Mass Effect 3: The Cycle
by BDM
Summary: Final story in this Alternate Universe series. As the Reapers begin their assault on Earth, Alan Tyler and Kaelyn Shepard must unite the races of the galaxy and put an end to the Cycle of Extinction once and for all. Co-written with CII, the grand finale of a fanfic series that has lasted over ten years.
1. Author's Note and Prologue

**Author's Note: **This was originally to be posted after CII's story Halo: Civil War was fully completed. However, as she has started other projects which she needs to focus on she may be unable to finish that any time soon, so please bear in mind that this will contain enormous spoilers for that story. Just thought I ought to give you fair warning in case you were holding out for it.

Also, please bear in mind that this is still in-progress, so new chapters may be slow in coming.

**MASS EFFECT 3: THE CYCLE**

**Prologue: The Eve of the War**

_**1335, October 31, 2560 (Military Time)\Classified Location**_

The _UNSC Infinity_ moved slowly through the grim silence of this vast, empty region of known space. The immense, grey, oblong-shaped ship was once hailed as the pinnacle of the military achievement of the United Nations Space Command, a flagship behind which all their other ships would follow into glorious battle. In its present state, floating through the void, looking rather like a lonely twig drifting on a calm ocean, scarred with blast burns and holes in its hull, it now looked somewhat less glamorous than the Office of Naval Intelligence probably intended.

Captain Thomas Laskey was sure that he would feel the heat for ordering his ship to retreat from a battle that he knew they would never win; like many in the UNSC he had heard of what happened when one human tried to save his people by surrendering to the enemy during the Covenant War; that poor man's entire family had been blacklisted ever since, and it took a fatal sacrifice by his granddaughter to finally clear the family name. He thought bitterly about how his superiors seemed to prefer having martyrs to survivors, but then again if no ship had escaped from the battle they had just faced then none would be alive to spread the word of the threat to the entire galaxy. He had seen the face of the new enemy once already, and fighting just one of them had been bad enough. There was no way that they could have survived a fight with an entire armada. He ran a hand through his short brown hair, his face relatively young but now looking haggard and world-weary, as he thought about what the demons that had declared war on every sentient creature alive were doing now.

He was stood on the large bridge of his ship, watching the hologram displays of her schematics, checking the damage and hoping that it wouldn't get worse. They hadn't had time to fully refuel the ship, and if they didn't find somewhere to dock soon they were surely done for. He only hoped that they had gotten away quickly enough so that they were not being pursued. He tapped on the hard-light controls before him, relaying coordinates to his helmsman, an approach vector which he hoped was as good as his very important passenger said it was.

"Steady as she goes," he said into the intercom. "Stay on this course." He turned to face his most important passenger, who stood there checking his hard-light Omni-Tool, wearing a blue dress uniform. "Not that I want to show lack of confidence in our allies, but are you sure this will work?"

"I've seen this in action with my own eyes, Laskey," said Admiral Stephen Hackett, his aged and scarred face looking no less resolute. "Trust me when I say this approach vector is good. Just stay on the course our allies are giving you."

"Hate to be a Negative Nancy, but the Captain's got a point," a voice said from Laskey's terminal. A hologram of a figure dressed like an early 20th-century pilot, complete with flying cap and goggles, was stood on the display, looking at the senior officer with a wry expression. This was Roland, one of the last Artificial Intelligences created before the stringent Council regulations on AIs came into effect. "There's nothin' out here bigger than a speck of dust. You sure they haven't just bugged out?"

"You saw the videos from the Citadel, didn't you?" asked Hackett. "Then you'll know what they're capable of. If they say they're around here, you'd better believe that they're around here."

"Just hope so, sir," said Roland. "Otherwise we're gonna look pretty foolish floatin' in the middle of nowhere waiting for a space cuttlefish to come along and tear us apart." Admiral Hackett just shook his head, wondering what sort of programming code was used that let AIs be so sarcastic.

Things were quiet for several minutes, as Roland and the ship's pilots guided the _Infinity_ along the course that had been set out for them. It was then that Laskey ordered an all-stop, much to the surprise of the rest of the bridge crew; if the enemy had followed them, they were now sitting ducks. Laskey himself looked uncertain, but didn't say anything upon noticing an encouraging nod from Hackett. He couldn't help but admit that he was slightly excited by this; he had seen the footage from the Citadel when their new allies had revealed themselves to the galactic community, and in spite of the catastrophe he had just endured, he found himself looking forward to seeing what these beings were capable of.

All of a sudden the sensors on the bridge went crazy, as what appeared to be an electrical storm suddenly erupted outside the ship. The scanners showed that something enormous was slowly materialising out of thin air, enveloping the ship. Hackett's eyes were the only ones which didn't go wide as a gigantic vessel formed around them, the _Infinity_ now taking up a tiny space in one of the hangar bays. Roland's holographic avatar reappeared, looking as spellbound as the human crew members.

"This thing is massive..." he breathed. "86 kilometres long, 37.8 kilometres wide and-"

"55.2 kilometres high," Hackett finished, failing to suppress a sly smile. "I know." He turned to Laskey as the ship suddenly trembled, loud thudding noises coming from outside as something locked the ship into place. "We'll have to get everyone down to the floor using the shuttles. The most serious casualties get priority; they'll get the best medical treatment possible. We'd also better get down there to let our allies know what's happened."

"Uh... Yes, Admiral," stammered Laskey, still hardly daring to believe what had happened. He decided that this would be the last time he questioned anything about their new allies ever again.

A few minutes later, a shuttle vessel had taken Hackett, Laskey and several people on stretchers bearing horrific injuries down to the floor of the vast chamber that the _Infinity_ was anchored inside, secured in place by large docking clamps hanging from the high ceiling. As large as the ship was it was dwarfed by this chamber made of black stone and filled with golden angular designs. Golden and blue lights ran along the golden plating, while curly lettering of an alien, yet familiar, sight to some of the humans ran along the walls. Laskey's mouth fell open as he and Hackett stepped onto the black floor. It rippled slightly like water with each step they took, but remained solid and firm. The medical teams wheeled their patients outside, all of them looking agog.

Almost as soon as the shuttles took off back to the ship to collect the next group of passengers, Hackett and Laskey heard footsteps approaching them, echoing all around the chamber. They turned to see the source of the noise approaching them; a number of large figures were marching in a disciplined formation, most of them wearing ornate golden combat armour, their faces concealed by draconic helmets. Electricity seemed to pass between all the figures, filling the chamber with a brilliant golden glow, and there was a smell of ozone in the air. All of the figures towered over the humans, even though Hackett knew that they were not their true size. The tallest of them was wearing luxurious robes of violet, scarlet and royal blue, with golden-brown hair that was bundled into dreadlocks, tied in various bobbles and ornaments that glowed blue, and which cascaded down his back. His hair at the front was separated into two long bangs that framed his face, each having a broad stripe of white hair. His face looked like a cross between an Eastern dragon and wolf, covered with coppery-golden scales, with branched horns of gold growing out of the top and fleshy coppery tendrils growing out of the upper lip. Broad golden wings with ruby membranes were folded to his back, while a long tail snaked behind him, lined with two rows of ebony spines and tipped with two spikes that looked polarised, like the points on an electrical plug. The figure's eyes glowed a vivid cyan colour, with three triangular markings visible on each of his cheeks and ghostly blue cords which looked like fine threads draping over his large mane. Hackett and Laskey recognised these as the markings of a Technomancer, and a very powerful one at that, as no human Technomancer could stay connected to the Array like this for such a long period of time.

Laskey of course had seen and read the reports about the Precursors, the beings that had taught humanity how to harness the power of Technomancy for themselves, but he never imagined that he would actually be meeting the leader of them in-person. He did his best to look professional, his arms behind his back as the entourage approached them. Hackett looked more relaxed, but very grave. The Precursor leader's face, meanwhile, carried an expression of enormous relief as he approached Hackett, towering over the human as his claw shook Hackett's hand.

"You're safe," Emperor Xi Kedzuel Draconis said. "When you sent your message, we feared the worst."

"I'm just glad you were able to give us that flightpath to the _Shi'lithra_," said Hackett, referring to the enormous ship that had so easily contained the _Infinity_ in its great hangars. "We were damn lucky that the Reapers were too busy to notice us slip away." He saw Kedzuel nod before turning to Laskey. "This is Thomas Laskey, Captain of the _Infinity_. Captain Laskey, I believe you've heard of Emperor Xi Kedzuel Draconis of the Blitzardi."

Kedzuel simply nodded, and offered a claw for Laskey to shake. The human stood there aghast for a moment, before slowly raising his hand and taking that claw, apparently completely at a loss for words. Kedzuel looked rather uncomfortable as he pulled his claw away.

"Please don't look at me like that, Captain," he said, shaking his head. "You make me think that I'm my uncle." His face darkened when he mentioned his uncle, Cerenath-Khan Draconis, a name which was mud as far as he was concerned for several good reasons.

"I'm sorry, Your High-" began Laskey, but paused when he saw Kedzuel give him a hard look. It seemed that he did not approve of being addressed by a formal title, so he coughed and began again. "I'm sorry, sir, but this is my first time meeting one of your people up-close. I look forward to working with you during this campaign, sir." He gave a quick salute, which Kedzuel returned.

"I only wish we were meeting under better circumstances," sighed Kedzuel. "Excuse me a moment." He turned to his entourage and gave orders to his guards in the Blitzardi tongue, a language that no electronic translator could recognise.

"Tesh'thwut gan'thar shu'edei," he said, his voice sounding even more alien and hollow as he spoke the strange, ethereal language of his people. "Do'yshi shat'ij."

"Echeso, Ru'hashi," one of them replied with a swift, and obedient bow.

Kedzuel turned to face Hackett and Laskey again, the younger human looking confused.

"I've told them to take your wounded down to our infirmary," the Emperor said with a kind smile. "Don't worry about them; they'll get the best medical care in the galaxy and beyond."

The wounded humans could only moan piteously as the Blitzardi guards escorted them from the chamber, more arriving to take their place. Pushing past them, however, was another figure that Hackett knew very well indeed. The figure looked like a bio-mechanical dinosaur, wearing an immaculate dark suit over gleaming silver combat armour, a long tail snaking behind him. His head was reptilian in shape, covered with grey scales and with emerald-green dreadlocks made from the synthetic muscle tissue known as bio-syntech. Like Kedzuel, he looked extremely relieved as he approached Hackett and shook the human's hand firmly.

"Mr. President," said Hackett, addressing the figure by only one of several titles he had gone by in his lifetime. "Good to see you had the sense to be on this ship too."

"I'm just relieved that one ship made it from Arcturus Station," sighed Kiryuu Knight, looking up at the vessel with an expression of pride. "We've got at least one human ship for the battle to come, at least."

"It won't be much of a battle with just one human ship," said Laskey. "With all due respect, sir."

"I know, Captain," said Kiryuu, "and no offence was taken." He turned back to Hackett. "How bad was it at Arcturus? The last transmission from there sounded dire."

"It got worse," said Hackett, his eyes narrowing. "The Reapers turned up there in bulk. Our forces didn't stand a chance. Any humans that weren't slaughtered got captured. I hate to think what the Reapers are doing to them now, especially after what we saw..."

He went quiet as the shuttle landed on the floor again, sending the black floor rippling once again as the passengers stepped out with more medical gurneys. As the guards escorted the human medical teams, Kedzuel and Kiryuu saw that one of them bore a figure who was the only non-human on board the ship. This was a Batarian, a humanoid figure with brown leathery skin, four dark eyes, ribbed faces and noses, and mouths full of sharp teeth. The figure groaned, clutching a wound in his shoulder, his face burned and bleeding from several cuts. He looked a mess. While Kiryuu had never liked the Batarian race as a whole, the state of this figure reminded him of just how dreadful the current situation was, and of just how much worse it was going to get.

"That's Governor Grothan Pazness," Hackett chimed in. "He was exiled from the Batarian Hegemony for preaching co-operation with the other races in the galaxy. He'd been claiming sanctuary on Arcturus Station since just before the attacks in Batarian Space started, continuing to preach to anyone who'll listen." He took his hat off and ran a hand through his short white hair. "From what we've been hearing, however, very few of his people listened. We've been getting reports of Batarian refugees flooding the Citadel, but it's still only a fraction of their total population. The Hegemony, from what we've heard, has been completely destroyed." He then shivered slightly, groaning. "We saw what the Reapers have been doing to them on Arcturus Station. It's not something I would wish on anyone, but it'll be happening to everyone in this galaxy soon enough."

Kedzuel watched as Governor Pazness was escorted to the infirmary, sighing. His face showed deep regret. Beside him, Kiryuu looked very grave, his arms folded. He knew that things would get bad quickly, on this day which he had hoped would never come.

"I should have given the Batarians the Ultimatum," snarled Kedzuel.

"You know they would never have listened," sighed Kiryuu. "The entire Hegemony was a group of xenophobes, and that influence spread to almost their entire race. You would have ended up having to destroy them, and that would not have gone down well with the Council."

"Still," Kedzuel said, taking a deep breath, "it would have spared the Batarians from this either way."

Kiryuu's face looked grave as he turned to face Hackett and Laskey once again. "How many were you able to get out of Arcturus?" he asked.

"Too few..." Laskey muttered.

"We got as many out as we could," said Hackett, though his voice made it clear that he had wished for a better outcome. "It's mainly servicemen and support staff, though. Master Chief John-117 is on board, as are Commander Sarah Palmer and Fire-Team Crimson. Most of our Spartan-IVs weren't so lucky though, and the Alliance Parliament has been wiped out, along with many of ONI's higher-ups."

"There was no way we could have taken down those... things," said Laskey. "I know we should have stayed and helped, but I made the call. I felt that we had to save as many as we could, so I ordered the ship to evacuate. As far as I know we're the only ship that made it." Laskey sounded almost argumentative, as if he expected Kiryuu to chastise or berate him for his decision. However, the mecha had a sympathetic look on his face.

"I understand completely, Captain," said Kiryuu. "It was more important that you save as many people as you could than it was that you become a martyr." He turned back to Hackett. "I've tried to mobilise the fleets, but the communication lines are in disarray. The Reapers must be attacking the comm. buoys. We've developed technology that may give us a workaround, but it's only installed in a few select places. Besides, the fleets still haven't recovered their full strength after the Battle of the Citadel." He sighed. "We definitely are not equipped to take the fight to the Reapers by ourselves."

"What about the _Shi'lithra_?" asked Hackett, turning to Kedzuel. The Precursor stood for a moment, looking thoughtful, before turning to face Hackett.

"She's combat-ready," said Kedzuel, "but the Reapers have arrived in full force. Even one of our ships can be torn apart if it gets swarmed, and your fleets are not strong enough to provide any form of protection." He shook his head, looking grim. "What I'm more concerned about is that the _Shi'lithra_ is the only battle chariot we have been able to get fully operational. We're close, but I thought we would have more time..."

"It's also reasonable to assume that the Reapers' first target is Earth," said Hackett, his arms folded. "They'll want to get their Human Reaper built as quickly as possible. I have no doubts that the bulk of their forces are already heading for the Sol System. Once they're established on Earth, the rest of the homeworlds are sure to follow..."

"Then we've got no time to waste," said Kiryuu, narrowing his eyes. "We've got to get the call out, start calling in favours. Not even the Council could ignore the reports that have been coming in from Batarian Space over the past month. We've got to get them, and everybody else involved in this fight, talking in the same room."

"That's not gonna be easy," sighed Laskey. "There's a lot of bad blood out there. Getting all those races to work together, given their history, is asking for a miracle."

"Luckily, Captain, I know a few miracle workers," said Kiryuu. "I'll contact Admiral Anderson and the Sangheili High Council as soon as I can. They may be able to get the people who can make this work moving. I know it sounds like I'm putting my eggs in one basket, but if they can't get the peoples of this galaxy to stop arguing for a moment then no-one can."

Kedzuel listened carefully to the discussion, then looked over at the _Infinity_'s shuttle, which had landed once again while they had been talking. He looked at the crowds of people emerging from the ship; the biggest casualties were now being seen to, but the humans still looked too hurt, too weary, to notice the chamber all around them. Indeed, many of them, their bodies streaked with dirt, looked thoroughly shell-shocked, as if they had lost all will to live. He wondered if they knew that things were only going to get worse before they got better, if they got better at all. There was no doubt in his mind that more and more, not just humans but all the other races of the galaxy, would join this sad, painful exodus, as the Reapers, the greatest threat that this galaxy had ever known, began their rout of civilisation, their massacre of all sentient life.

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. In spite of all that he done, he couldn't help but feel that Kiryuu was right; when all was said and done, with all of the factors of the situation taken into account, the irrefutable truth was that the fate of all life now rested on the shoulders of just a few individuals...


	2. The Long Halloween

**The Long Halloween**

_**1401 (Military Time)\Office of Naval Intelligence, New York**_

Liar. Disgrace. Insane. Murderer. Those were just a few of the words that Kaelyn Shepard had had associated with her over the past month and a half, and those were the least offensive ones. When she thought back to everything she did, everything she had tried to do to keep the galaxy safe, it still distressed her to think that one decision came very close to undoing it all.

Her troubles really began over two years ago, when just another routine mission (a term she always found ludicrous) had turned into anything but. An alien artefact had imprinted visions in her brain, showing the return of the Reapers, enormous sentient machines spawned by an intelligence from beyond the boundaries of space and time that came to systematically exterminate all advanced organic life roughly every 40,000 years. The Mass Relay technology, which allowed for travel to the other side of the galaxy almost instantaneously, was instrumental in this, as through its use the civilisations of the galaxy evolved down the paths the Reapers desired, setting up their base of power on the space station known as the Citadel, the hub of the Relay Network. The Citadel was in fact a gigantic Mass Relay that connected to Dark Space, where the Reapers hibernated between each Cycle of Extinction, allowing them to immediately invade and take over the network, decapitating and crippling all of galactic civilisation in one fell swoop to make the peoples of the galaxy easy pickings for the Reapers.

This cycle, however, they had not succeeded, due to their technology being sabotaged. That did not stop their vanguard, Sovereign, from trying to activate the relay himself, using his pawn, the rogue Turian Spectre Saren Arterius, to do so. Thanks to Shepard and the allies she had made – some of whom she had lost – along the way, that plan had been prevented. Perhaps realising that they had lost the element of surprise, or perhaps because of hubris, the Reapers started to make their own way to the galaxy. In that time, their agents, the Collectors, the indoctrinated and genetically-modified form of the race known as the Forerunners, had been abducting entire human colonies.

It was later revealed that they had done so to grind the humans down and use their essence to create a new Reaper. It was strongly believed that they had done so in order to gain their own Technomancer, a being who could wield the limitless powers of the Array, believed to be a vast database as old as the universe that recorded every single action committed by living beings. If the Reapers had gained access to the Array and being able to use Technomancy, they would have the power to manipulate all of Creation, essentially making themselves gods. Thankfully, that plan had been foiled by Shepard and her companions, but the victory had earned her a new enemy in the form of Cerberus, a human-supremacist terrorist faction that had aided her as the Collectors operated in the Terminus Systems, outside the jurisdiction of both the Citadel Council and the United Nations Space Command. Her refusal to give them Reaper technology had earned the enmity of their leader, the Illusive Man, who was determined to find a way to use the enemy's methods against them, something which Shepard knew was doomed to fail.

Three weeks later, the Reapers were finally about to arrive. They planned to use the Alpha Relay, located deep in Batarian space, to take a shortcut to the Sol System and catch Earth's defenders completely off-guard. Shepard had been successful in destroying the relay, delaying them, but doing so had completely obliterated a whole star system. Over 300,000 Batarians had died, and Shepard held herself responsible for it all. If it had not been for indoctrinated UNSC agents forcing her into that position...

In the end, it didn't matter anymore. Now here she was, imprisoned in the main ONI building for the past month, hidden from a galaxy that had reacted to the incident with outrage and venom. The Batarians in-particular wanted her head on a pike. Fortunately it had transpired that she had friends in very high places, and so compromises had been reached. That said, she had still being discharged, stripped of her rank, and essentially placed under house arrest in the ONI building; she could not leave the building, nor could she be present for important meetings. Only rumours had reached her ears of war in Batarian space, which would probably account for why the Hegemony hadn't gone to war with the UNSC over her actions. Still, the news troubled her, as she was sure that she knew what it meant. She only hoped that the galaxy was ready for when the war spread beyond Batarian borders, but after all that she had seen and heard in the past two months she didn't have much hope.

At least her prison wasn't uncomfortable, with a bed, a private washroom and a view of the Hudson River. She was looking out across the river to the gleaming skyline of Manhattan, leaning against the glass, combing a hand through her short brown hair while she watched the golden-brown autumn trees swaying in a soft breeze. She was sure it wouldn't be long now before the Reapers arrived, and what was hurting her was that she was in no position now to stop it; she was trapped here as much to save her from the galaxy as it was to save the galaxy from her. She wasn't even allowed to contact her friends and comrades, even if just to find out if they were alright. She had no crew, no ship, and no trust from anyone around her. She was sure that all of these thoughts were contributing to the nightmares; she had not had a decent night's sleep for the past four days. She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of her door sliding open.

"Commander," a man's voice said with a Puerto Rican accent. Turning around, she saw that the man was James Vega, her personal probation officer. Her friend and mentor, Admiral David Anderson, had insisted that she have one, as required for anyone under house arrest like herself. Of course, they could not bring in anyone close to Shepard; it had to be someone who appeared impartial, not likely to try to help Shepard go into hiding. Vega was a mountain of a man, heavily muscled with a chiselled jaw framing his scarred, stubbled face and with his hair fashioned like a small Mohawk. A tattoo seemed to run all the way up the right-hand side of his body. She had gotten to know Vega, who was a member of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, over the past month, mostly because he was not that disciplined and a bit of a motor-mouth. In spite of his job he seemed rather keen to talk to her. He saluted as she turned to face him, a move with she responded to by just shaking her head.

"You're not supposed to call me that anymore, James," she said, gazing at him with her bottle-green eyes.

"Not supposed to salute you either," he said. Behind him Shepard could see people moving frantically in the corridor, and now that the door was open the sound of an alarm was reaching her ears.

"We've gotta go," the ODST continued. "Anderson wants to talk to you."

"Sounds important," said Shepard, stepping towards the door and following Vega out into the corridor. "What's going on?"

"Couldn't say," replied Vega as both stepped out of Shepard's quarters. "He just told me he needed you now."

The scene out in the corridor was one of total confusion, as the staff in the building ran to and fro, some carrying papers and datapads, all of them with identical expressions of worry on their faces. Alarms were sounding from further inside the base. As Shepard and Vega walked down the corridor, they were quickly approached by Anderson himself, dark-skinned and dressed in his blue dress uniform. He had had a long and memorable career, including two years as the human Councillor on the Citadel itself, a role which Shepard had recommended him for but which he'd eventually retired from. He shook Shepard's hand when he approached her, while Vega saluted.

"You look good, Shepard," the Admiral and former Councillor said, looking at Shepard from top to toe. "Maybe a little soft around the edges. How're you holding up since being relieved from duty?"

"It's not so bad once you get used to the hot food and soft beds," sighed Shepard as she followed Anderson down the corridor and out of the detention block, pushing past crowds of worry-stricken staff. "What's going on?" she asked, looking around her into every stranger's face. "Why's everyone in such a hurry?"

"Admiral Hackett's mobilising the fleets," replied Anderson. "I'm guessing word's made it to ONI; something big's headed our way."

"The Reapers?" asked Shepard, stopping dead in the hallway with a worried expression. They were almost at a flight of stairs leading down. Anderson turned to face her.

"I'm prepared to stake my life on it," he said, with a grim expression.

"You know we're not ready if it is them," said Shepard, her eyes narrowed. "Not by a long shot."

"Tell that to HICOM," said Anderson, shaking his head and leading the way down the stairs.

"Unless we're planning to talk the Reapers to death," said Shepard, "HICOM's a waste of time."

"They're just scared," said Anderson. "None of them have seen what you've seen. You've seen them in action. Hell, you spoke to one, then blew the damn thing up! You've seen how they harvest us, what they plan to do to us, how they're trying to get their claws on the Array. You know more about this enemy than anyone who isn't a Precursor."

"That why they grounded me?" asked Shepard in a bitter tone, her eyes narrowed. "Took away my ship?"

"You know that's not true," said Anderson, halting in the corridor and turning to face her, his brow furrowed. "When you blew up the Alpha Relay, hundreds of thousands of Batarians died!"

"It was either that or let the Reapers walk through our back door!" spat Shepard.

"I know that, Shepard," said Anderson, in a low tone. "And so does everyone who matters. If it wasn't for that, you'd have been court-marshalled and left to rot in the brig."

"That and your good word..." said Shepard, now looking rather guilty.

"I trust you, Shepard," said Anderson, leaning close to her. "And so do many other people out there. Right now, you need to show them that their trust is justified."

"I'm just a soldier, Anderson," sighed Shepard, "not a politician."

"I don't need you to be either," replied Anderson. "I just need you to do whatever the hell it takes to stop the Reapers." With that, they resumed walking down the corridors, pushing past the ever-thickening crowds of people.

"So what do you expect me to do, Anderson?" asked Shepard. "There has to be a reason you pulled me out of house arrest."

"We need to head to the _Normandy_," said Anderson. "She's not as ready as we'd like, but she'll get you out into space and to the Citadel. We've got to start rallying everyone we can and calling in favours to get the resistance against the Reapers underway. We've got a crew assembled; right now Major Alenko's overseeing them and prepping for departure."

"Major?" asked Shepard, stopping and looking surprised.

"Oh, you won't have heard about Kaidan's promotion..." said Anderson.

"No, said Shepard. "I'm a bit out of the loop these days."

"Sorry, Shepard," said Anderson, "but that was one of the conditions of your confinement, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," sighed Shepard. "I would've liked to have heard from him, though. He's..."

"I understand," said Anderson, "and I'm sorry. I know you two had a relationship..."

"One that Cerberus did its best to destroy..."

"I can't say I blame everyone for the way they reacted to you working with the Space Nazis," Vega chimed in.

"I don't either," said Shepard, shaking her head. As they were about to resume their march down the corridors, there was a sudden beeping noise coming from Anderson's Omni-Tool. He brought up the hard-light interface to find that someone was trying to contact him.

"_Admiral Anderson!"_ a worried-sounding female voice was saying.

"Give me a status report," said Anderson, sounding calm.

"_Our colonies are going dark,"_ said the voice. _"We've lost contact with everything beyond the Charon Relay! Now we've just lost contact with Luna Base!"_

"The Moon?" asked Anderson, lines of worry now filling his face. "They couldn't be that close already..."

"Has the UNSC started evacuation procedures?" asked Shepard.

"Yes," replied Anderson, "but the Reapers have got here so quickly. We don't have enough time to evacuate even an eighth of our population..."

"_The Orbital Defence Grid has just gone dark!"_ the woman then said. _"The Reapers cut through it like it wasn't there!"_

"How many?" asked Anderson.

"_Thousands!"_ replied the speaker. _"Tens of thousands!"_

"Evacuate all stations!" barked Anderson. "Get as many out as you can!"

"_Yes, sir!"_ the woman replied before signing off.

"We've got to get to the _Normandy_ now," hissed Anderson, looking frustrated. "They're obviously sending the bulk of their forces here."

"To get their Reaper Technomancer as quickly as possible," said Shepard, looking very grave. "We've got to get moving now!"

Then, from outside, a low humming noise could be heard, maintaining an eerie, consistent note like a distant foghorn. Shepard, Anderson and Vega stopped dead in their tracks; Shepard especially knew what this noise was, as she had heard it countless times in her nightmares. Around them, others stopped to listen to the sound, as it grew louder and louder, their concerned expressions now beginning to show signs of panic. The sound suddenly ceased, only to be replaced by a high-pitched whine from somewhere close by, and a series of low, dull thuds.

The next instant, there was a catastrophic explosion right by the group, as something emitting a vivid red light blasted through that section of the building. Shepard found her world thrown into chaos as she was thrown bodily through the air by the blast. Slamming into the opposite wall, a whining filled Shepard's ears as she collapsed to the floor, her vision blurred and her hearing filled only with this whining sound. She breathed sharply, and struggled to pull herself to her feet, as the whining began to fade and she heard Vega's voice calling her name.

"Shepard!" he called, and the Commander soon saw the large marine standing over her, looking very worried. "Come on, get up!" he said, reaching a hand out for her to take and helping her stagger to her feet. Close by him was Anderson, who also looked very worried. Around them the corridor was in ruins; those who were not dead or dying were trying to either evacuate the area or put out the fires that clung to the walls. The path in front of them was completely blocked by rubble.

"Here, take this!" said Anderson, handing Shepard a large Predator-model pistol, Vega proceeding to pull his own large magnum from his belt. "We've got to get moving! The path to the main exit is blocked! We've got to try for one of the emergency exits!" He turned to head down the corridor, raising his hard-light Omni-Tool to his mouth. "This is Admiral Anderson. Does anybody copy?" Shepard could only hear a buzzing noise coming from the other end. Her heart suddenly seemed to stop when she heard the name of who Anderson was trying to address: "Major Alenko, is that you? What's your status?" However, there was nothing but dead silence on the other end, and as the group rounded a corner, pushing past members of staff who were rushing everywhere to try and get the fires under control, she felt as if lead weights were pressing on her shoulders.

"I can't raise the _Normandy_," Anderson said heavily. "We've got to get outside, try and get a clearer transmission. With any luck, they can still pick up our Omni-Tools and get a fix on our position."

Through the dark, smoke-filled corridors they went, the fires around them seeming to creep up the walls. Once or twice they had to get dangerously close to the blaze in order to get around a pile of rubble. Coughing and spluttering, the trio kept on the move and were peering around, hardly daring to miss any blind spots. The number of other UNSC staff still alive in this part of the building grew fewer and fewer as Anderson led the way to an emergency exit; it was disconcerting to run down the corridors and catch a glimpse of a hand sticking out from under a pile of rubble. As they approached the exit door, the sound of that devilish foghorn came again, seeming to fill the air around them.

"Dios mio..." muttered James, peering behind him. "It sounds really damn close!"

"Come on!" called Anderson, as they rounded a corner and reached the exit. It seemed to have been damaged in the blast, as it was stuck slightly open, revealing the daylight beyond. However, as Shepard approached it, she had to jump back as an arm suddenly reached through the gap trying to grab her. The skin on the arm was shrivelled and grey, blue lights and tubes poking out from where the bone was exposed. A horrible breathy snarling could be heard on the other side of the door, and through the gap Shepard could see the arm's owner.

It looked, for all intents and purposes, like a zombie, the entire body looking like that same moisture-starved skin stretched over a skeleton. The dead eyes glowed with a blue light that matched similar lights visible on the tubes and cables that now made the creature's bones and veins; a horrifying synthesis of the organic and synthetic. It was known to the galaxy as a Husk, a human victim of the Reapers' experiments and rapid indoctrination techniques. It swung wildly at the air, its horrible wheezing cries echoing through the corridor. Taking care to stay out of the reach of the flailing claw, Shepard raised her pistol and shot the cybernetic zombie in the forehead twice. The head seemed to disintegrate like an over-ripe melon, the body now collapsing to the floor.

"Jesus..." breathed Shepard. "The Reapers must have brought Husks with them..."

"Arcturus Station was hit hard," said Anderson, shaking his head. "The Reapers must have grabbed whoever they could from there and any colonies they hit on the way here." He turned to Vega and pointed at the door. "Lt., can you get it open?"

"No problem, Admiral," replied Vega, cracking his knuckles. He marched over to the door and, forcing himself into the gap, managed to push the doors wide enough apart to form a gap for the others to push through. Holding the door at arm's length, Anderson and Shepard slipped through under his arms. Once they were on the other side, Vega pushed himself through behind them, the door sliding back into place as he did so.

On the other side of the door, the group found themselves standing out in the large oval-shaped courtyard, a raised rampart around it giving the impression of the building being located in the middle of a stadium. Behind them the ONI building was a wreck, its glass surfaces smashed and fire streaming out of the openings. Before them was a view of the Manhattan skyline, but now that skyline was broken, many of the buildings smashed and with pieces blasted off of them. Sticking out of the skyline view like a cancer was the shape of a gigantic creature that resembled a cuttlefish, two kilometres in height, covered in a dark purple-black metal with red lights lining its surface. It slowly marched through the city, smashing everything in its path and shooting a bright red laser out to destroy any signs of resistance. As it marched, it emitted the same foghorn-like sound that the group had heard earlier, almost deafening them as they raced across the courtyard, the sounds of screaming crowds and gunfire echoing from the stricken city. As they glanced to their right, they saw another such creature, striding over the buildings and smashing them; presumably this was the one that had attacked the ONI building earlier. The sounds of gunfire could be heard as UNSC soldiers desperately fought to hold back the waves of Husks that were bearing down upon them.

After a tense minute of running, their guns raised at all times, the trio reached a door at the base of the rampart. This was an emergency exit that led into a stairwell inside the rampart, which in turn led down to the docks. The door's control panel was broken, but it gave way with some force from Shepard, Vega and Anderson. The rampart had been split in two by one of the Reapers' laser blasts, causing the stairwell to be exposed to the elements. It would be a precarious climb down what was left of the stairs, but it was do-able.

"This is a god-damned mess..." Anderson grunted, as he and Vega pushed a fallen beam aside, allowing the group to reach the stairwell. "Every minute these machines are here, thousands of innocent people die... I won't be held responsible."

"It's hard enough fighting a war," said Shepard reasoningly, the trio starting their way down the stairs, "but it's worse knowing that no matter how hard you try... you can't save them all." She looked forlorn as she followed Anderson down the stairs. She was thinking of friends long-gone, the close allies that she had failed to save and who had died fighting the monsters that were now laying waste to all in their path.

"Exactly," replied Anderson. He jumped over a hole in the stairs onto the next landing, and stood back to let Shepard and Vega jump over.

"They hit so fast..." Vega muttered. "I thought we'd have more time."

"We knew they were coming," said Shepard.

"And they still just cut through our defences," said Anderson, shaking his head in disbelief. "We need to get to the Citadel and talk to the Council."

"The Citadel?" said Vega, stopping in his tracks and shaking his head. "But the fight's here!"

"It'll be everywhere soon enough," said Shepard, looking grim as she looked through the gigantic hole in the rampart. A Reaper was still marching through Manhattan, systematically cutting down all that it came across. "The Reapers will destroy everything if we don't stop them."

"The Council has to help us..." grunted Anderson. They were almost to the bottom, but the landing they had reached had been destroyed, leaving only a narrow ledge to shuffle along. Anderson led the way, with Vega bringing up the rear.

"You sure those idiotas will listen?" asked Vega, looking sceptical.

"No," replied Anderson. "But Shepard's still a Spectre. That has to count for something."

Spectres were members of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, an elite group of agents who only answered to the Council. They filled a variety of roles and used whatever methods they deemed fit to complete their missions; about the only thing they had in common was that, when a Spectre was called in, a situation was truly dire.

"But what about the Precursors?" asked Vega as the trio shuffled along the ledge. "They look like they've got some serious cojones."

"They're not at full strength," replied Anderson. "Only one of their ships is ready to fight, and it can't-" Before he could finish, however, there was a violent crash and the ground shook. There had to have been a heavy explosion somewhere nearby. Shepard lost her balance and was about to fall, but Vega grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back onto the ledge.

"Thanks," gasped Shepard. "I owe you one."

"More than one, Lola," replied Vega. He had a habit of referring to others by nicknames he felt matched them, simply because he found it easier to remember. It was a quirk of his that Shepard allowed; she felt that anyone around her had to feel as comfortable as possible, given what they would soon be up against. After another minute, the group reached the ground floor without incident, landing right beside the path that would lead to the dock. At that moment, another Reaper suddenly landed in the Hudson River, waves shooting in all directions as the legs hit the water.

"Move!" Anderson barked, and all three ran as fast as their legs could carry them down the path. Anderson raised his Omni-Tool. "Major Alenko! We're cut off from the spaceport! We'll find another landing point! Stand by for further instructions!"

"_The _Normandy_'s on her way!"_ a gruff male voice said on the other end through the static. _"We're taking heavy fire... Oh, God! They're gonna take down that cruiser! Evasive manoeuvres!"_

"Major Alenko?" barked Anderson as the line went dead again. "Kaidan?! God-damn it, they're in trouble..."

Looking towards Manhattan, Shepard saw a UNSC cruiser, grey and roughly gun-shaped, firing on the marauding Reaper. However, just a few shots from the creature's destructive laser tore through the shields, annihilating the ship. The sky was lit by the bright flare of the explosion, and a shockwave swept through the area, almost knocking the trio off their feet. With one last effort, they made a mad dash and reached the docks, which were now strewn with debris, every watercraft hopelessly smashed and signs of a recent fire. Luckily the Reaper that had just landed was moving on to cause carnage elsewhere, so they moved towards a large cargo container close to the water.

"We got friendlies here!" said Vega suddenly, pointing ahead of the group. Shepard and Anderson turned and saw two UNSC marines, one of them with his leg pinned under a large beam. As they approached their stricken comrades, one of them turned and his eyes widened in horror.

"Get down!" he hissed. "They'll see you!"

Suddenly there was a noise like a wheezing, guttural roar coming from close to the cargo container. Shepard looked in that direction and saw several figures, all of which were horrifically malformed cybernetic creatures. They looked like they were stitched together from various odd parts, were hunchbacked with glowing circuitry and tubing visible under the dry brown skin, and each had a large gun welded onto their right arms. With a start, Shepard saw that all of them had four eyes and familiar ridges on their heads. She couldn't contemplate the implications of this, however, as the monsters opened fire on the group, forcing them to dive for cover. As aggressive as these creatures were, however, they were still no match for three highly-trained UNSC soldiers, and each fell after several shots from their pistols.

"Looks like we now know what happened to the Batarians..." muttered Vega, his expression dark. Shepard gave a low sigh; after the destruction of the Alpha Relay, she expected the Batarians to come under attack from the Reapers. These creatures had clearly been Batarians once, and now it seemed like a lot of their number had suffered a fate worse than death. Anderson, meanwhile, was kneeling beside the soldier with the trapped leg.

"What happened here?" the Admiral asked.

"Our gunship got shot down," the healthy soldier replied, his face streaked with dirt. "We barely made it." His partner, still trapped under the beam, winced in pain, but did his best not to show it.

"You have a radio?" asked Anderson. "We're trying to contact our ship."

"No," replied the soldier. "There's one in the gunship, but it's gonna be crawling with those things." Looking out towards the water, Shepard and Vega could make out the tail-end of a downed Pelican, with faint sounds of movement coming from that area.

"Stay here, son," said Anderson reassuringly to the injured trooper. "We'll get you out of here!" He kneeled down and tightly gripped one side of the beam while Vega grabbed the other. With a great deal of effort, both men were able to pull the beam up just enough for Shepard to pull the trapped marine free. As Anderson and Vega let go, the beam sank further down, forming a serviceable bridge across the water to the main landing platform.

Deciding that they had wasted enough time, the trio crossed the makeshift bridge and ducked down behind the cargo container. As they moved to round the corner, there was a sudden sound of jets as another Pelican flew overhead. The gunners stationed on it were shooting madly at something pursuing them. None of the group got a good look at it, but it was a flying bio-mechanical monstrosity, like a miniature cybernetic dragon, that chased its prey with a high-pitched howl.

"What the hell was that?!" Vega breathed, his eyes wide and hardly daring to believe what he had seen. Shepard and Anderson didn't have time to answer, however, as a group of Batarian Husks suddenly opened fire on them. By returning fire and gradually pushing forward, the trio were able to reach the downed Pelican. The craft was a mangled wreck of ruined metal, but Anderson quickly spotted the radio equipment, which had miraculously survived the crash. Vega crossed himself as he spotted numerous human bodies strewn around the crash site, some of which looked partially eaten. It seemed that the indoctrinated Batarians were cannibals. Shepard, meanwhile, found a functioning assault rifle and loaded it, her eyes peering into every possible hiding place as Anderson activated the radio.

"_Normandy_, this is Anderson..." he said. "Do you read?"

"_Admiral!"_ came Kaidan's relieved-sounding voice. _"What's your location?"_

"By a downed Pelican in the harbour near ONI headquarters," replied Anderson, trying to make himself heard above the sounds of chaos behind him. "Shepard and Lt. Vega are with me. I'm activating the Pelican's distress beacon!"

Anderson activated the distress beacon, but there was no reply from the _Normandy_. When he tried to contact the ship again, all that came through was garbled static.

"Major?!" Anderson barked, but there was no response. He shut off the radio, looking furious. "Damnit, I lost the signal!"

"Let's just hope that beacon does its job," said Shepard.

"And fast!" yelled Vega, pointing at a spot above and behind the other two. "We got company!"

Looking to see where Vega was pointing, Shepard and Anderson spotted several fireballs in the sky overhead, looking like falling meteorites. All of a sudden one shot right over their heads, slamming down onto the walkway behind them. Emerging from the smoke left by the impact came several more 'Cannibal' husks, which immediately fired upon them again. The humans dived for cover and fired back, but for each figure they cut down more fell into the area to join the fray.

"Hope they get here soon!" Anderson called.

"You and me both!" Shepard replied, sending several bullets straight between the eyes of one husk. As the relentless waves of monstrosities showed no signs of relenting, Shepard prayed to whatever gods existed that the _Normandy_ would find them. They were fast running out of ammunition, and within a few minutes they would be overrun...

"_The cavalry has arrived!"_ a new voice suddenly said over the radio, and Shepard felt herself having to suppress a loud cheer. She recognised the voice as belonging to Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, the pilot of her beloved ship. The area in front of them exploded, taking the monstrous Reaper ground forces with it, as it was bombarded from above with missiles.

A deafening roar could be heard overhead, and the group looked up to spot a super-sleek frigate swooping towards them. As it swung about and slowed in order to hover, Shepard felt her heart get lighter as she saw the name '_Normandy_' painted along the length of the white, black and blue hull. At last, for the first time in over a month, she felt as if she was coming home, and only wished it was under better circumstances.

"Let's go!" Shepard barked, sprinting ahead and scrambling to the top of a pile of ruined metal, the _Normandy_ hovering in front of it and lowering the ramp to the hangar bay. Standing on the ramp and flanked by two UNSC marines was a figure that made Shepard's temporary high spirits soar even higher. A man of Korean descent was standing there, with black hair and wearing black combat armour lined with yellow lights. His rifle was raised and he cut down two surviving Cannibals that had tried to sneak up on the fleeing trio. Shepard leaped the gap from the rubble and landed on the ramp, Vega quickly joining her.

"Welcome aboard, Commander," said Kaidan Alenko in his familiar gravelly tone.

"Thanks," replied Shepard, allowing herself to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Shepard!" Anderson called from the harbour. He had not jumped the gap, which puzzled both Shepard and Vega.

"Come on!" Shepard called to him, but Anderson shook his head. He turned to see another Pelican fly overhead, heading towards a crowd of terrified civilians in the harbour below.

"I'm not going!" he called. "You saw those men back there! There are a million more like them, and they need a leader!

"If you're staying, we're staying!" Vega called, already preparing to jump back over the gap.

"No, Lieutenant!" called Anderson. "Go with Shepard! That's an order!"

"Fuck this!" Vega spat. "I ain't leaving Earth like this!" He was about to make the jump, but was grabbed by the marines. He struggled with them as Kaidan turned to him.

"Stand down, Lt. Vega!" he barked. "If Anderson wants you to stick with us, then you'd better stick with us!"

"We're in this fight together, Anderson!" called Shepard, now looking very indignant. Anderson just shook his head, a look of cold determination in his eye.

"It's a fight we can't win," he said. "Not without help. Emperor Kedzuel said it himself; we need every species and all their ships to even stand a chance of defeating the Reapers." He slowly approached the edge of the ramp, looking every inch the leader of the armed forces. "Talk to the Council. Convince them to help us."

"What if they won't listen?" asked Shepard.

"Then make them listen!" barked Anderson. "Now go! That's an order."

"I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?" said Shepard, shaking her head. At this, Anderson pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to her. Catching it, she peered into her palm to find her old UNSC dog tags.

"Consider yourself re-instated... Commander," said Anderson. "You know what you have to do." Shepard took a deep breath, lowering her rifle and putting her dog tags back around her neck.

"I'll be back for you," she said firmly, standing resolute, "and I'll bring every fleet I can." She paused for a moment, looking at her mentor straight in the eye. "Good luck."

"You too, Shepard," said Anderson. As the ship began to lift away from the ramp, he saluted to his protégé and then ran down the ramp. Shepard and Kaidan watched him leave, looking at each other gravely. They knew that Anderson had a huge responsibility in organising the resistance against the Reapers, but they were certain that if anyone could do it, then he could. Vega, meanwhile, having ceased to struggle, looked indignant, but seemed to realise that he was in no position to say anything and stayed quiet.

The ship turned to face the harbour, and for a moment Shepard saw several Pelicans and Kodiak shuttles landing there, with soldiers desperately trying to evacuate the terrified civilians. One shuttle was being filled with children from a nearby school, all of them dressed in various Halloween costumes. For them, a fun holiday had suddenly, irreversibly, been changed into a living nightmare. Among the faces in the crowd, Shepard thought she saw a familiar face, but shook herself. It was impossible that she could have seen him, but when that child's eyes had briefly locked with hers, she had felt certain...

"You okay, Kaelyn?" asked Kaidan, looking at her with concern. Shepard shook herself and put on a brave face. 

"I'll be alright, Kaidan," she breathed. "Let's just get airborne. There's nothing more we can do here."

Just as another giant mechanical monstrosity, one resembling a huge spider-like tank, marched towards the stricken civilians, Shepard and her companions headed back inside the ship. As the hangar door sealed behind them, the sounds of explosions and panicked shouts faded away, but even as the _Normandy_ sped through the skies and out beyond Earth's atmosphere, none of the crew felt that they would be able to get the dreaded foghorn-like wails of the Reapers out of their heads.

0

_**1414 (Military Time)\Outside El Paso, Texas**_

It was an isolated ranch several miles away from the city of El Paso, nestled on the arid plains between the north-east part of the city and the Hueco Tanks State Park. The occupants had received it as a wedding present from relatives and friends of the family, and mainly used it to raise cattle and keep chickens. Growing crops didn't interest them, in spite of agriculture technology having been improved to the point where growing crops in the harsher climates of the world had become more viable. The ranch had seemed to the owners to be a great place to raise a family, as it also allowed for a view of the city and the Franklin Mountains, a place to be out and with nature while still being close enough to civilisation for the essentials.

As soon as the news about the Reaper attacks had started to reach them, however, they knew it was only a matter of time before the war reached their doorstep. This was a day they had been preparing for for some time, all while hoping that it would never come. So the past half-hour had seen a flurry of frantic activity within the house, as the occupants desperately tried to get their essentials together and ready. They had received the call they had been waiting for not long ago, and now were anxiously dragging what they needed out onto the dusty porch.

"Come on, move your ass!" José Lovano grunted, struggling to push a large crate out onto the porch. He was a wiry man with Hispanic features, black spiky hair, and a well-trimmed moustache and goatee, wearing a dark-green shirt and grey combats. The crate he was pushing was somewhat heavy, lined with UNSC markings. Sweat poured down his face as he struggled to push the crate. "C'mon, can't ya give me a hand here?!" he called behind him.

"You said it yourself!" called his wife, Rachel Tam, wearing a brown boiler suit over a pink T-shirt and her hair its usual shaggy long brown self. "I help the kids, you deal with the army stuff! Shouldn't you be able to move your suit by yourself? It's not exactly the MJOLNIR stuff, you know!"

In the crate was José's old ODST armour, which he had been able to hold onto in spite of not being officially part of the ODSTs for several years. He hoped that all the trouble he had gone to to keep it would pay off. With one last push he managed to get the heavy crate onto the porch, placing it alongside various boxes of supplies. He doubted they would need all of this stuff, and he doubted even more that they would have time to get them all onto their transport. The wind seemed to pick up as José looked up at the sky, sending flurries of dust everywhere.

"Come on, hurry up..." he sighed. Somewhere in the distance he thought he could hear thunder, but the sky was a clear baby-blue. If it had not been for a transmission he had received from some old friends of his, it would be impossible to believe that the galaxy was now facing the greatest war that it ever had. The thought that anybody could be continuing to spend their day as if it were just like any other seemed totally incredible to him, and he was sure that, when the war arrived here, even in this relatively remote part of America, many were in for a rude awakening.

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, a loud foghorn-like sound seemed to split the heavens open. As he watched, a gigantic cuttlefish-shaped object seemed to fall from the sky, landing on El Paso, easily towering over the tallest skyscraper. A single red eye gleamed from somewhere just above the legs, then all of a sudden a giant, terrible red laser struck the town. As he watched, there was a second creature landing on the southern part of the city, and looking up into the sky he saw that it was now ablaze with red flashes, as what looked like small meteorites sped towards the ground. Rachel came outside to watch with him, her arms full with two children; one a toddling girl with dark hair, and an infant boy still clutched in her arms and squealing, frightened by the noise.

"They're really here..." she breathed, her eyes wide and hardly daring to believe what she was witnessing. "The Reapers are here..."

"Hitting nice, soft El Paso..." José snarled, his fists clenched. "Nowhere is safe from those... from them," he finished, looking down at the children, catching himself just before he swore in front of them. Even in the midst of galactic Armageddon he knew that he would never hear the end of it if his children started to learn naughty words because of him. He looked back up at the sky, tapping his foot feverishly.

"They'll be here," said Rachel gently, trying to soothe the crying baby and the fidgeting toddler. "When has _Serenity_ ever given us reason to doubt her?"

José was about to answer, when the sound of jet engines overhead became apparent. Turning around, both of the adults saw a very welcome sight. For speeding towards them through the blue and red sky was a small spaceship, one that vaguely resembled a bird in its design, with a metal 'beak' on the front at the end of a long neck. The main body was flanked by two large rotating jets, while on the rear was what looked like a giant bulbous engine, the shape resembling an insect's abdomen. As the ship approached and slowed, the engines rotated so that it could hover in place while it landed, and they could now see the name of the ship, painted on the side of the beak-like cockpit in both English and Mandarin Chinese: _'Serenity'_.

"Told you," said Rachel, nudging José's rib with her shoulder as the ship set down on the dusty soil. The large ramp on the front of the ship lowered, and three figures stepped out from the cargo bay. Two of them were wearing armour and had weapons raised. One was a Spartan soldier, dressed head-to-toe in blue MJOLNIR-class combat armour, save for the head which revealed a Filipino-American woman, just over seven feet tall, with short black hair, spiked at the back and with two long bangs framing her face. The second was a gangly lizard-like Sangheili with brown skin, four appendages that comprised the mouth and wearing a scuffed black combat harness. The third figure, wearing a dark shirt and blue trousers, looked like a distorted cross between reptile and human, his skin covered in pebbly grey scales, with sharp claws and a long tail snaking behind him. His long brown hair blew about in the gusts of wind and his golden reptilian eyes surveyed the area as he approached the couple.

"You all ready to leave?" the reptilian Alan Tyler asked, revealing a set of sharp fangs whenever he opened his mouth. He cast glances up at the fireball-laden sky and at the city-destroying Reapers in the distance. There was no time for small-talk, and everyone there knew it.

"Yeah," José nodded. "We packed as light as we could, but with the kids..."

"Don't worry about it," Alan cut in. "We've got enough room in the cargo bay. Let's just get everything on board, and fast!"

The next several minutes were spent piling all of the storage containers into the cargo bay, and securing them wherever they would fit. The hardest to place inside was José's armour, which took several minutes to secure next to the other armour lockers. The corner of the cargo bay close to the door had been converted into a small armoury. Rachel had her hands full trying to keep her daughter from fidgeting and her infant son held close to her. She spent most of the time directing José as he did most of the heavy legwork, with Alan chipping in while his companions kept watch. José kept looking over at the Sangheili, his expression difficult to read; his eyes narrowed and he looked as if he wanted to say something but thinking better of it. The relationship between José and Dorva was particularly complicated, as Dorva had betrayed the human's old ODST unit against his will. It was something that still haunted the Sangheili to this day, and Alan wondered if the wounds had ever healed, even in this time of war.

As the last crates were put in place, there were suddenly several loud impact noises coming from the fields behind the house, and Alan looked up in time to see some of the red meteorites crashing down into the ground. Already ghastly moaning and roaring noises could be heard coming from the impact sites.

"Heads up!" called Nicole-458, the Spartan, her grip on her rifle tightening. "We've got bogeys incoming!" As José looked around him, he suddenly snapped his fingers, his expression becoming horrified.

"Oh damnit!" he exclaimed. "I forgot something! We can't take off without it!" Before anyone could stop him, he was already running down the ramp and back towards the house.

"José!" Alan shouted after him. "We're out of time, you fucking idiot!" He barely saw José's back disappearing into the house before a group of the Cannibal husks came around the house, and suddenly opened fire on the ship. He, Nicole and Dorva all returned fire, looking for cover wherever they could find it.

"Get the younglings into the back!" Dorva called to Rachel as he cut down two Cannibals with his carbine. "Hurry!"

Rachel was torn, the hand holding her daughter's hand twitching towards the gun strapped to her belt for a moment. The young girl's voice shouting "Mommy!" brought her back to her senses, though, and she ran into the common room at the back of the ship, dragging the two children with her, several laser blasts from the Cannibals barely missing her.

Alan gritted his teeth as one laser blast did pierce his right arm. He almost dropped his Technomantic revolver as every nerve in his arm seemed to be set on fire, but he forced himself to keep firing at the monsters down below. Like all who had fought Reaper ground forces before, he knew that there was nothing left of the species that made them. They were mindless zombies that had no will other than what their masters gave them. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the group saw José come bursting out of the house, wielding an old assault rifle and cutting down several Cannibals as he ran towards the ship. One Husk was smashed with the butt of his rifle when it got too close to him, the head exploding like a putrid melon. Alan and the others did not stop firing, even when Nicole slammed her palm onto the control panel for the cargo ramp as soon as José put his foot on it. He didn't stop running until he was halfway across the cargo bay. Up-close, Alan recognised the rifle José was carrying as the one he had affectionately called 'Attila'; that old weapon clearly had a lot of sentimental value for him, the way he had been willing to risk his neck for it.

"Call!" Alan yelled into his commlink, already hearing the whirring of the engines get louder as the ship was pelted by laser blasts. "Get us out of here!"

"_Roger!"_ the worried-sounding voice of his female pilot replied. The ship gave a sudden lurch and lifted off the ground even before the cargo ramp and the airlock doors closed. Everyone stumbled as the ship rocked and buffeted until the motion dampeners kicked in. Several tense minutes followed, as everyone expected the _Serenity_ to be shot out of the sky any second. However, the sounds coming from outside eventually died away, replaced only by the humming of the engines. Outside was dead silence, indicating that the ship was now out in space, and Alan realised that, by a miracle, they had escaped.


	3. Martian Gothic

**Martian Gothic**

In spite of their narrow escape, no-one on the _Serenity_ breathed easy. No-one spoke as they removed their weapons and armour. José, after placing Attila on one of the racks, only gave a sheepish look to the others before heading to the common room. As the others walked across the cargo bay, headed for the stairs leading to the upper gantries, they heard the sounds of raised voices coming from the common room.

"Is José always this impulsive?" asked Nicole, now stripped of her armour and wearing a green vest and combats. She had not served on the _Serenity_ for long and had only met José once before, so had no experience working alongside him.

"Oh, I could tell you some stories..." Alan muttered. He was glad to have José back on the ship, but he only hoped that his time as husband and father had mellowed him out a bit. In their situation, they could not afford incidents like that which the ODST once brought upon himself on a regular basis. "There's not much we can do now. Just check over our supplies for now; I need to think about where our first stop should be."

Nicole nodded and headed towards the upper level, but Dorva stayed behind a moment and approached Alan. The raised voices from the common room subsided.

"If I may make a suggestion, Shipmaster," said the Sangheili in his baritone voice, "we should head to Sanghelios and recover the Council, along with our best military minds. The Reapers will certainly hit our home hard and try to cripple our military, stop us from providing any kind of support to Earth."

"I know that," said Alan, scratching his chin. "We ought to contact Telek, though; chances are he's already thought of that. I don't like the thought of going into a hotzone with kids on board either..." He sighed, and walked to the common room while Dorva remained in the cargo bay to check the supplies.

The common room was a wider area with sofas, coffee tables, a working trideo system and a Shufflepuck table. The room had a small inner chamber that contained a fully-stocked infirmary, while a passage in the back led to a series of rooms with amber-coloured screen doors which were used as passenger cabins. José was sat on one of the chairs, looking thoroughly dejected. It seemed that Rachel had already told him off enough for risking his life to save a gun, regardless of how much sentimental value it had. Alan wanted to say something, but the look on José's face suggested that everything that could be said on the matter already had been said. He thought it best to let the soldier have a few minutes alone, and headed up the nearby stairs to the upper passageway.

There was nobody in the engine room that he could see from glancing down the corridor to the left, while heading to the right he found Rachel in the cosy dining room, which still retained its farmhouse feel with the yellow walls, wooden table and chairs and small galley, which Rachel was in now trying to place pieces of protein bricks on a tray with one hand while holding her baby with the other. The young black-haired girl was on one of the armchairs in the corner, fidgeting; there were no toddler chairs on board the ship. Upon seeing him, Rachel finished with the food and shoved the tray roughly into Alan's arms.

"Take that over to Inara, please," she said. "I've got to feed Nathan." It was funny she should have said that, for a series of moans came from little Nathan. It occurred to Alan that there was no baby food on board, so he wasn't sure what sort of effect protein bricks would have on Inara. As he saw Rachel move her arm up to unbutton her boiler suit he quickly turned away and placed the tray down in front of Inara. He saw that Rachel had tried to cut the solid protein into animal shapes, though the results were rather haphazard. At sight of him the toddler shrank back in her chair, peering at Alan with wide eyes.

"Don't you remember your Uncle Alan, Inara?" said Alan, his expression as soft and welcoming as his reptilian features would allow. After a moment Inara seemed to calm down and cautiously took a bite out of one of the protein animals. Almost immediately she spat it back out, her face wrinkled up in disgust.

"Eeww!" she groaned.

"No, it's not very nice, is it?" Alan said, shrugging. "I'm sorry, Inara, but that's all we've got." In response to this, Inara just folded her arms and pouted.

"That's it," sighed Rachel as she fed Nathan. "We'll not get her to eat another bite now, not until we can find something she actually likes. She's such a picky eater, and I blame raising her on a ranch with all the fresh stuff available to her." As she finished feeding Nathan she held him up and gently patted him on the back to burp him. Once it was over Alan approached her, looking concerned.

"Are you and José gonna be okay?" he asked. "We all saw what happened back at the ranch..."

"Everything's shiny, Captain," said Rachel, waving her free hand dismissively. "We cleared the air, and what's done is done. We've got bigger problems, like those giant metal squids that want to kill or synthesise us all." She looked between the two children, her expression growing more serious. "They can't stay on the ship, not with everything blowing up around them. I don't want to leave them, but I know I'm needed here. Somebody's got to keep _Serenity_ up in the Black, haven't they?"

Alan sighed, failing to suppress a look of pride. "I'm glad you're the one who said that," he said. "There's no-one in this whole galaxy I'd trust with _Serenity_ more than you." He looked at the kids and gave a confident smile. "Don't worry about them. I know somewhere that's safe. Well, as safe as anywhere can be in the galaxy now..."

Rachel didn't say anything and looked unsure. That told Alan all he needed to know; like him, she had doubts that anywhere in the galaxy was truly safe from what was consuming it now. In the end, however, she nodded and turned her attention back to the kids. It seemed clear that nothing more was to be said on the matter, not until the children were safe.

Noticing that the hatch to one of the storage cupboards was open, Alan leaned on the doorframe and looked in. Inside he found Nicole, checking the food supplies. With her was a teenage girl with pale skin and shaggy black hair. The rest of her body was covered by an ornate environment suit, one without the helmet and with a variety of circular patterns on it.

"How are we holding up?" asked Alan.

"Well," said Nicole, "provided you're okay with eating stuff that's practically inedible, then we're good to go. We really need to stop at the Citadel, see if they can spare any supplies while we're in dry-dock."

"Most of this food has too much salt," said Gillian Grayson, in a flat monotone that had become very familiar to the _Serenity_ crew. Gillian was autistic, and as such had difficulty with social abilities that the others took for granted.

"Get an order in when we reach the Citadel," said Alan. "Right now though, there are other places we need to be..."

"_Captain, you'd better get up here!"_ came the voice of Call over the intercom. Alan beat his fist into the doorframe before running out of the dining room and through the corridor to the bridge, passing the five crew cabins. Under his breath he found himself cursing and praying; he hoped that the Reapers were not coming after them, they certainly would not be out of the Sol System yet...

He quickly climbed up the few steps at the end of the corridor and stepped onto the bridge. Call, a pale-skinned woman with short, spiky black hair and large, dark eyes, was at the pilot's seat, guiding the ship through the vast expanse of space. Alan looked out of the large front window, and felt that the stars had never looked so foreboding to him before. Snapping himself out of his reverie, trying to remain focused in the present, he sat at the empty co-pilot's chair.

"What's the problem?" he said to Call.

"Got a transmission coming in on the emergency bandwidth," the android replied. "It's a bit broken up, but I patched it as best I could. My best guess would be that the Reapers are going after the comm. buoys."

"Put it through to my screen," said Alan. Seconds later, there was a buzzing noise as static was displayed on one of the various screens on the console. As the image cleared and the fuzzing sound began to die away, Alan saw that it was Kiryuu contacting him. Upon seeing Alan's face, a look of enormous relief spread across his snout.

"_Alan!"_ he exclaimed, apparently barely able to contain his relief. _"Thank heavens you're alright!"_ The communication seemed stable, but the sound of static could still be heard, threatening to overwhelm Kiryuu's voice. _"Did everyone make it?"_

"Yeah," said Alan, nodding. "Everyone's here. It was a close call, though; the Reapers made landfall just as we did."

"_We've been trying to contact everyone on Earth that we can,"_ said Kiryuu, his face looking grave. _"It's getting harder because our communication lines are being severed. It won't be long before we lose them completely."_ He took in a deep breath. _"We won't be able to keep this line open much longer. Right now, you need to get yourself to the Citadel. There are modifications your ship needs to get there if we're to stay in contact."_

"Wait, Kiryuu," said Alan firmly, waving his claw. "I need to get to the _Shi'lithra_ first."

"_That's too risky, Alan!"_ said Kiryuu, shaking his head. _"The Reapers are everywhere; there's every chance they'll intercept you!"_

"I've got to risk it, Kiryuu," said Alan. "We've got kids on board, and I don't think the Citadel is entirely secure. They'll be safer with Kedzuel. Right now, that ship of his is the only safe place." His claws gripped the console tighter. "Let's face it; right now I'm as likely to get blown up on the way to the Citadel as I am trying to find a Precursor vessel."

Kiryuu paused for a moment, his golden reptilian eyes never leaving Alan's own, before releasing a deep sigh.

"_The _Shi'lithra_'s currently dimension-shifted,"_ he said. _"I'll have Kedzuel send you a flightpath, but you must follow it exactly. Otherwise we may end up splitting the _Serenity_ in two if she gets stuck in a bulkhead. Get here as quickly as you can, then we can talk more."_

"Just one thing, Kiryuu," said Alan quickly. "Any news from Shepard?"

"_She made it off Earth in the _Normandy_,"_ said Kiryuu, speaking rather rapidly as the transmission grew fuzzier. _"Admiral Hackett has dispatched her to Mars to extract Liara. Now hurry over here! We can't keep this line open any-"_ All of a sudden Kiryuu's image flickered and faded away, the sounds of static filling the cockpit.

"Kiryuu!" Alan shouted, turning the knobs beside the screen which did not make the slightest difference to the static. As the line went dead, Alan beat his fist into the console.

"I can't raise anyone anywhere," said Call, shaking her head and looking worried. "I hope that whatever these modifications are, they help out." She looked out of the window, watching as the ship approached what looked like a giant metal tuning fork, with a glowing blue sphere of pure Element Zero in the centre, kept in place in the middle of two spinning rings. Both Call and Alan looked uneasy as the little ship sped towards the gleaming Mass Relay.

"I don't like the idea of being on our own out here..." said Call, a tremble in her voice. "I never thought I'd actually feel frightened, but I am now..."

"I know, Call," said Alan softly. "I am too. It's these things," he continued, pointing at the Relay, "that I wish we weren't using. We all know who made them now, but we can't get rid of them. We need them if we're going to even stand a chance in this fight..." He closed his eyes, his brow furrowed, and an expression of pure anger on his face.

"God-damn you..." he muttered, apparently to no-one in-particular, his fist clenching tight as the _Serenity_ drew alongside the enormous relay. A stream of blue energy shot out of it and bathed the ship in its glow. Then there was a loud noise like a thunderclap, as the ship blasted off into the deepest parts of space. It was a journey that was only possible with the Relays, but given what he knew about the Relays and their monstrous creators, Alan was convinced that, in this war, they would spell doom for them all.

0

When humanity first began to expand beyond Earth, one of the first places to be colonised was its older neighbour, Mars. Thanks to terraforming efforts, the atmosphere of Mars had been changed to the point where the planet was now inhabitable for humans without the need for biological domes, and the climate was more agreeable, if still cold. Few plants grew, however, the planet still retaining its dusty red appearance, and sandstorms were still a problem. One such huge storm was now spreading across the planet, engulfing all of the colonies in its path.

During the Covenant War, the planet had played host to its own large-scale conflict, in the form of the Battle of Mare Erythraeum, and afterwards archaeological expeditions had been widely encouraged, in order to find what the Covenant had been after on the surface. The reward for all those efforts was that a Forerunner installation was discovered, and attempts to penetrate deeper into it and recover the priceless data that was sure to be concealed there were ongoing to this very day.

At least it had been until all contact with the facility was lost just a few moments before the Reapers invaded the Sol System. Seeing it as the only option open to him at the present time, Hackett had dispatched Commander Shepard and the _Normandy_ crew to investigate, as it was the last chance they would have to do so before the Reapers closed off the system. The last transmission to come from the planet suggested that the research team at the outpost were onto something big, something that may even help tip the balance in the coming war against the Reapers. If it had not been for the expertise of their new supervisor, Dr. Liara T'Soni, they may never have found it, but now it seemed that all of the staff, including Liara, were in serious danger.

Shepard's feet crunched in the dusty landscape as she led Kaidan and Vega around a rocky outcrop. All three soldiers looked nervous and alert. Already they had seen a bad omen; a dead UNSC marine, one that had been executed by gunshot wound. It definitely was not the work of the Reapers, and the group dreaded to think about what was going on. Moving silently around a corner, onto the path approaching the research outpost, two loud gunshots suddenly echoed around them, coming from close by. Diving behind a pile of rocks, Shepard, Kaidan and Vega watched the scene in front of them with wide, disbelieving eyes.

In front of them was a group of humans clad in combat armour, with helmets that covered their faces leaving only thin red strips to see out of. These militants had already executed two UNSC soldiers, and as the group watched they shot and killed a third who was on his knees. Most disturbingly of all, the colour of the armour the executioners were wearing was black, yellow and white, and each had an emblem that looked like a black hexagon flanked by yellow lines. There was only one group that these markings belonged to; Cerberus, the human supremacist group, formerly a black-ops division of the UNSC but had gone rogue. They were now legally declared a terrorist faction, not least because they had been responsible for the murder of Lord Terrence Hood, the commander of the UNSC's armed forces during the Covenant War.

Shepard felt pure rage flowing through her veins like poison. It sickened her to see this happen, with unarmed men getting murdered in such a way. Without even waiting to bark out orders to the others, she threw a grenade into the group. Two soldiers were killed in the blast, while the others opened fire on them. Following Shepard's lead, Kaidan and Vega fired back, cutting down the soldiers in seconds. More came to provide reinforcements, but none of them were a match for three heavily-armed and well-trained UNSC commandos.

"Those guys were Cerberus, weren't they?" asked Vega, as the last of the soldiers fell.

"Sure looked like it," said Shepard.

"What are they doing here on Mars?" asked Kaidan, stooping down to pick up the dog tags of the murdered UNSC marines.

"Good question," said Shepard, looking towards the facility.

"You don't know?" asked Kaidan. He knew the implications of the question, but it had slipped out before he could stop himself.

"I'm not with them anymore, Kaidan, if that's what you're asking," said Shepard, with a tone of finality in her voice. It irritated her that her own friends, someone she loved, still didn't trust her after the incidents months ago. It was true that she had worked with Cerberus to stop the Collectors, but circumstances had forced that uneasy alliance. She thought Kaidan knew that, but then she remembered that the last time they had spoken things ended on very bad terms.

"It wasn't," said Kaidan, now sounding suspicious, "but you have to admit it's a bit… er… convenient." The three of them walked down the rest of the pathway, passing by two Mako personnel carriers and several Warthog jeeps as they approached the front entrance to the facility. All of them were in the same Cerberus colour scheme as the soldiers' armour.

"Doesn't look like they came here in force," said Vega, looking around him, peering into every shadow as if expecting a Cerberus soldier to jump out of it.

"Yeah," said Shepard, "just a few vehicles."

"Must have had help from the inside," Kaidan chimed in. "Nobody could have taken this place with anything less than a full battalion." Shepard nodded, knowing this could be true; Cerberus had agents everywhere, and it made sense that they would try to place one in a highly-secure facility with untapped knowledge to be obtained.

"Commander," said Vega, "I thought you told Cerberus to fuck off after you wiped out that Collector base they were after."

"That's exactly what I did," said Shepard.

"Well, one thing's for sure," said Vega, looking disgusted, "they ain't helpin' the UNSC in this war."

"Agreed," said Shepard. She really didn't like the implications of what Vega was saying, but there was no solid evidence yet to support the theory in her head. Disconcertingly, the entrance was still open, revealing a cargo elevator inside that would take them upwards into the base. As Shepard accessed the control panel, closing the door behind the group, Kaidan approached her, looking firm.

"Shepard," he said, "I need a straight answer."

"Kaidan…" Shepard began, but Kaidan cut her off.

"Don't 'Kaidan' me!" he snapped. "This is business! Do you know anything about why Cerberus is here?!"

"What makes you think I know what they're up to?!" Shepard retorted, looking as if Kaidan had slapped her.

"You worked for them, for gods' sakes!" Kaidan exclaimed. "How am I not supposed to think that?!"

"We joined forces to take on the Collectors," grunted Shepard. "That's it."

"There's more to it," said Kaidan. "They rebuilt you from the ground-up. They gave you a ship, resources…"

"Let me be clear!" snapped Shepard. "I've had no contact with Cerberus since I destroyed the Collector base, and I have no idea why they're here now or what they want!"

"Shepard's been under constant surveillance since coming back to Earth," Vega chimed in. "No way they've communicated since."

"Sorry, Shepard…" Kaidan sighed. "It's just that…" He was interrupted by a loud hissing noise as the elevator began to rise. Shepard's expression softened, and she approached him with a tender look in her eye.

"You of all people should know what I'm about, Kaidan," she said, softly, the elevator shuddering to a halt as it entered a large storage area. "Please trust me."

"I do, Kaelyn," said Kaidan. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" He was interrupted again by loud thudding noises coming from the air ducts on the ceiling. Something was crawling through the ducts, and there were sounds like muffled gunfire. Shepard, Kaidan and Vega raised their weapons at the ready.

All of a sudden a white-booted foot kicked open one of the air vents, and a svelte female figure dropped down to the floor, her face streaked with dirt and sweat. The figure was an Asari, a blue-skinned humanoid race composed entirely of females, with wavy sculpts of skin where their hair should be. This Asari was wearing a white jacket with blue lining over white combat armour. Shepard barely had time to recognise her when two Cerberus soldiers crawled out of the duct and began to open fire on the Asari. However, she in return suddenly glowed a vivid blue colour, a fluctuating sphere of energy shooting out of her hand and slamming one soldier to the floor. The second soldier found himself being lifted into the air, then slammed into the floor with enough force to crush every bone in his body. With one last flourish, the Asari pulled out a pistol and neatly placed two bullets in each of their heads, penetrating the helmets and killing them instantly.

As she turned to face the trio of humans, Shepard and Kaidan lowered their weapons. Vega hesitated a little, but lowered his own shotgun when he noticed the others holstering their rifles. Looking over the Asari, his eyes widened for a moment, and the light of recognition dawned in his eyes.

"Dr. Liara T'Soni?" he asked. The Asari looked at the marine, looking rather surprised.

"I'm sorry," said Liara in a soft voice. "Do I know you?"

"Not personally," said Vega, "but I saw your hologram on Fehl Prime. You were talkin' to Treeya, tellin' her about the Reapers. She thought you were out of your damned mind."

"You must be Lt. Vega, then," said Liara, her expression looking more relieved. "Yes, Treeya talked a lot about you. She knew how hard a choice it was that you…" Upon seeing Vega turn away, looking full of regret, she said quickly, "I'm sorry, I didn't think…"

"Is Treeya okay?" Vega interrupted, determined to take his mind off the incident at Fehl Prime. The fact that he had chosen to save Treeya's life and recover data on the Collectors, at the cost of hundreds of civilian lives, was still a sore spot for him, especially as it had turned out the data was entirely unnecessary due to Shepard's actions.

"I…" Liara hesitated. "I lost contact with her not so long ago. She was on Ilos studying the Shield Installation's systems, trying to get Vigil back online…" There was an awkward silence for a few moments, before Liara turned to the other two humans.

"Shepard, Kaidan," she said, with a look of enormous relief, "thank the goddess you're both alive! I was so worried when the reports came in…" She closed her eyes, her expression becoming one of deep sorry. "I'm sorry about Earth."

"Yeah…" said Kaidan. "It was difficult to leave."

"But… why did you come here?" asked Liara.

"Hackett ordered us to come," said Shepard. "Said you'd know what's going on."

"I do," said Liara, her face becoming more business-like as she turned towards the window. It looked out over the complex, where the gleaming top of a pyramid-shaped Forerunner structure could be made out, covered in the red Martian dust.

"Hallelujah," muttered Vega. "Some answers, finally."

"Maybe," said Liara. She pointed out towards the structure. "Believe it or not, but it turned out this Forerunner archive has data that they must have recovered from the Prothean era. The Protheans were my area of expertise, back when I used to believe they were the same as the Forerunners, so I was called in to take a look. In my studies, I discovered plans for a Prothean device of some kind, one which may turn the tide against the Reapers."

At this news, Liara looked surprised to see that Shepard looked doubtful.

"We've known about this place for decades," said the human. "The Covenant invaded this place trying to get their hands on it. Why are we just learning about this now?"

"Process of elimination," Liara shrugged, "mixed with a little desperation. When you destroyed the Alpha Relay, you bought us some time, but then you were under investigation. The Precursors were doing their best to prepare, but their efforts were being dangerously delayed by the Council's bureaucracy over mining rights. I had to do something." She folded her arms. "Hackett knew it too. He contacted me, asking if I would use my resources as the Shadow Broker to find a way to stop the Reapers. You know, give us a Plan B in case the Precursor battle chariots were not ready when the Reapers arrived."

"Wait, hold up…" said Shepard, holding up her hand. "You're the new Shadow Broker?"

"Long story," sighed Liara. "I'll tell you about it later. Alan Tyler could tell you his version of events as well."

"That's assuming he even made it off Earth…" said Shepard, looking forlorn.

"Way ahead of you, Shepard," said Kaidan, who had already reached up behind his head and had pulled out a set of ghostly, wispy cords that glowed a soft cyan colour. His eyes glowed that same colour, and two triangular tattoos had appeared on each of his cheeks. Kaidan was a Technomancer, carrying the ability unique to the human race to connect to the Array, the true nature of which remained a mystery to the galaxy at large, but which they understood in the loosest terms to be a vast information network created by life itself. The cords connected to the floor, and there was a moment of silence as Kaidan concentrated, searching for any sign of Alan through methods none of the others could fully understand. Even Liara, who had spent a lot of time around the Precursors, the race who had given the gift to Technomancy to the humans in the first place, was not sure she entirely understood how it worked.

"He's fine," said Kaidan, after a minute Connected, the glow fading from his eyes and the chords retreating back into his head. "He's on his way to the _Shi'lithra_."

"I wish I was going with him," sighed Liara. "Kedzuel needs to know that I'm alright…"

Vega, meanwhile, feeling rather left-out of the proceedings, decided to examine the bodies of the two Cerberus soldiers. For someone as academically-inclined as Liara, Vega was impressed that she could hold her own in a fight.

"Anyway," Liara said, shaking herself and resuming her professional demeanour, "my search led me here. Hackett got me access to the site and kept me updated on your status." She paused for a moment, looking awkward. "I would've come to see you, but…"

"No need to explain anything, Liara," said Shepard, shaking her head. "I was under house arrest. Besides, you were needed here. It's good that you were doing this."

"I'm just glad that the work seems to have paid off," said Liara, looking more confident. "I was amazed at the amount of data the Forerunners kept on the Protheans, and it may be the case that this Forerunner site was built from the foundations of a pre-existing Prothean archive. They must have learned about the Reapers and the Cycle of Extinction through them, hence the visions you saw in that Forerunner beacon all those years ago. They may have been trying to find a way to stop the Reapers by examining that data. Perhaps that is what led them to create the weapon that eventually became the Flood."

"I'm guessing that wasn't the only thing they discovered," said Shepard.

"That's right," said Liara. "There's something that they kept from the time of the Protheans that may be of use to us as a back-up plan."

"Some kind of weapon?" asked Kaidan.

"No," said Liara. "Not yet, at least. It's a blueprint for some kind of device. It's still in the Archive, across the tramway." She pointed out of the window, indicating the covered mag-lev tram line that ran out from the research station they were in to a human-constructed walkway near the top of the Forerunner structure, the walkway leading straight to the entrance to the building. Shepard assumed that most of the building was still buried under the desert.

"Unfortunately I didn't have time to extract the data before Cerberus attacked," Liara continued. "My only hope now is that they haven't locked the Archive down."

"What are they after?" Shepard asked, her brow furrowed.

"Whatever it is," said Kaidan, "they wanted you badly, Liara."

"They want what I'm here for…" Liara breathed.

"But why?" asked Shepard.

"All my research here indicates that the Protheans came close to defeating the Reapers," said Liara. "Perhaps closer than any race in any cycle, if you don't count the Precursors. If I'm right, they had plans to destroy them but didn't have time to put them into effect. Now those plans are in those archives, and I'm guessing that Cerberus would also be interested in something powerful enough to destroy the Reapers."

"Like you say, though," Shepard chimed in, "this is all just a theoretical back-up plan."

"True," Liara said, nodding, "but we need all the ideas we can get right now. Besides, we all know what Cerberus is. We can't let them use this device, whatever it is, for their own purposes." Her fist clenched. "Their actions here today have shown that they have no interest in co-operating with us. I don't think we can count on their support for the war."

"¡Dios mio!" Vega suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone. They turned to look at him, and saw him staring with wide eyes at one of the bodies on the floor. He had peeled the helmet of one of the soldiers away, and when the others saw what he saw they too could not suppress looks of complete shock.

The skin of the face inside the helmet was grey and rotten, as if all of the moisture had been drained out of it. More disturbing than that were the eyes, which were now completely synthetic and glowed with a soft blue-white light. Scars stretched from the eyes to the forehead and upper lip, as if something had dug out the eyes from their sockets. The scars also glowed, as if the muscle under the skin had been replaced with glowing wires. The face showed no signs of emotion, not even the agony of a violent death.

"Jesus…" said Kaidan, looking physically sick. "He looks like a Husk."

"Yeah, not quite," breathed Shepard, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing. "But they've definitely done something to him."

"And by 'they' you mean Cerberus?" asked Vega. "They did this to their own guy?"

"Is this what they did to you?" asked Kaidan all of a sudden, now looking at Shepard as if he had seen her clearly for the first time.

"How can you compare me to him?!" spat Shepard indignantly.

"Shepard," said Kaidan bluntly, "I don't know what you are, or who. Not since Cerberus rebuilt you. For all I know, you could be their puppet, controlled by the Illusive Man himself."

"Kaidan…" Shepard breathed, holding her head in her hand. She knew Kaidan had every right to be concerned, for even she did not understand much about the Lazarus Project, the very project which Cerberus had sunk untold billions of credits into in order to bring her back to life after the destruction of the first _Normandy_. She wasn't sure exactly how it had worked or why she retained her memories and free will. Still, she felt as if that was a low blow from the one person she thought would trust her above all others.

"Don't try to explain it," muttered Kaidan. "I don't think I'd understand anyway. I just wanna know…" He coughed, pausing and trying to collect his thoughts. "I just wanna know if the person I followed to Hell and back, the person that I loved… Are you still in there?" His expression, surprisingly enough to Shepard, was one not of anger or suspicion, as she had expected, but one of concern. He had the look of a man who wanted to believe the best but was preparing for the worst.

"They didn't change me, Kaidan," Shepard replied, holding a hand up to his cheek, "or how I feel about you. But words won't convince you, will they?"

"Probably not," replied Kaidan, shaking his head.

"I didn't think so," Shepard sighed. Then, to the surprise of everyone, she actually smiled. "You were always stubborn."

"Me?!" Kaidan said, failing to suppress a chuckle. Liara and Vega just looked at each other, both of them deciding that they had better not intrude on what was clearly meant to be a moment between not just two comrades-at-arms, but two lovers.

All at once, there was a hissing, crackling noise, and sparks suddenly appeared on the door on the upper level of the cargo bay. All four figures drew their guns, their faces becoming alert and focused, and watched as the sparks worked their way down the door, doubtless burning it open.

"We've got company," hissed Shepard.

"Bring it on," muttered Vega, loading his shotgun. "Not gonna let any of those freaks take me down."

"Not this time, James," Shepard suddenly said.

"What?!" said Vega, looking indignant.

"Get back to the shuttle," Shepard said to him. "If Cerberus beats us to the Archive, I need you covering the exits."

"But-"

"Now, Lieutenant!" barked Shepard, with that familiar finality to her tone that told him that he was not to argue with her. With one last despairing look, Vega ran to the elevator and rode it back down to the entrance, watching the rest of the group take cover behind the vehicles and crates, the door to the upper level sliding open. He couldn't help feeling envious of the others; they had their own ties that were hard-forged by their experiences together, and he knew that he had a lot to live up to if he was to prove his worth to them.

0

Fortunately for the _Serenity_ crew, there was no sign of pursuit from the Reapers as the ship made her way to the rendezvous point. From what they had witnessed no Reaper had stealth technology, but regardless Alan and the rest of the crew didn't feel they were truly safe until the ship landed safely in the _Shi'lithra_'s cavernous hangar. As the ship landed on the floor, black ripples flew everywhere along the floor, but in spite of this it remained perfectly solid and level.

The cargo ramp lowered, and all of the ship's crew and passengers stepped out into the hangar. They quickly found that they had a welcoming committee, consisting of Kiryuu, Emperor Kedzuel and several Precursor royal guards. Alan, watching as Rachel and José tried to keep their children under control, didn't notice as a look of enormous relief spread across Kiryuu's face, and before he had even realised what had happened, Kiryuu had strode across the hangar and was suddenly embracing him as if they had not seen each other for years.

"Thank goodness you're alright…" Kiryuu breathed, seemingly on the verge of fighting back tears. "When we lost contact, I thought-"

"It's okay, granddad…" Alan said quietly, taken aback by this outpouring of emotion from the bio-mechanical dinosaur. Alan knew that the two of them were technically family, their genes bound by the experiments performed on Alan back in the early 21st century, but he never expected Kiryuu to show that he really did consider them that way, least of all when he thought about what the Mechagodzilla used to be like when they first met. He wondered what his past self would say if he saw this moment. Not knowing what else to do, Alan returned the embrace, and they broke apart a few moments later, Kiryuu still failing to suppress a smile at seeing that Alan was alright. The mutant looked behind him, noticing that some of the crew were failing to suppress grins of their own. Much like Alan, this is a moment that they never thought they would witness.

"I hope you're not expecting a hug from me, Alan," said Kedzuel, who was approaching them with a wry smile. "I trust you implicitly, but I don't know you well enough to think of you as family." He settled instead for shaking Alan's claw. It was odd, but just those brief moments of levity helped to slightly alleviate the tension that had been threatening to overwhelm everyone in the chamber. Kedzuel then looked behind Alan, spotting Rachel and José with their children. Inara was trying to hide behind her father's leg, while Nathan dozed in Rachel's arms. Kedzuel indicated for them to approach, which they did so. Although both had met Kedzuel briefly two months ago, they had not spoken in any great depth with him, so both of them looked unsure about how to address him.

"Don't let the royal regalia and the bodyguards deceive you," chuckled Kedzuel. "Right now I don't want to hear any mention of my royalty from anybody." He peered down at little Inara, who seemed to be trying to melt into José's leg yet couldn't take her eyes off the Blitzardi. "I'm quite surprised she's not screaming her lungs out; I don't know how used she is to seeing non-humans."

"We got our esteemed Captain here to thank for that," said José, clapping Alan's shoulder with a sly grin. "Inara's got the ugliest uncle ever, so that helped get her used to seeing all the aliens and Awakened stuff out there."

"I'll take that as a compliment," replied Alan in a dry tone. He turned back to Kedzuel, looking apologetic. "Sorry this is all short-notice, but are you sure there's anywhere on the ship where the kids can be safe?"

"I have to say that no battle chariot has ever doubled as a nursery," said Kedzuel. "Still, there's always a first time for everything." He smiled kindly at Rachel and José and beckoned them towards. "If you'll follow me, I believe we have suitable accommodation for your children somewhere on the ship." He continued to speak as he began to make his way to the other end of the hangar with the family. "Oh, and Ms. Tam, my chief engineer would be thrilled to meet you. We didn't get much of a chance to speak at Alistair's memorial…"

Alan watched them leave, still unable to shake a sense of trepidation. He looked around at the faces of Call, Dorva and Nicole, who were now starting to once again look ill-at-ease. The threat of the Reapers continued to hang over everyone like a dark shroud, but no-one seemed able or willing to discuss it, still trying to recover from the shock of the attack. It was a day they had all seen coming, but none of them had felt adequately prepared for it. Finally, Kiryuu broke the silence.

"What do you intend to do now?" asked Kiryuu.

"Our next stop ought to be Sanghelios," said Alan, a claw on his chin. "I figure Telek's gonna need all the help he can get if he's doing what I think he'll do; that is, try to save as many Sangheili as he can. I don't doubt that the Reapers will want to take out the galaxy's heaviest hitters, now that Earth is theirs."

"We can't just give up on Earth!" said Nicole, looking scandalised.

"No," said Kiryuu gently, holding up a claw. "Alan's right. There's nothing any of us can do for Earth now, not without help. The Reapers will doubtless make the planet their main camp, so it'll be the most heavily-defended. Even the _Shi'lithra_ can't punch through the bulk of their forces by herself. We just have to hope that a resistance force on Earth can organise itself and hold out until the rest of the galaxy's fleets get there." He folded his arms, looking very grave. "I don't think I need to emphasise how much time is of the essence here. If King Ghidorah manages to harvest enough humans and complete his Human Reaper, then…" He visibly shuddered at this. "I don't even want to think about it."

"So all we have to do is get a whole galaxy that'll be watching their own borders," said Alan in a sardonic tone, "a galaxy with enough bad blood between all the races, all fighting on the same side to retake a planet that most of them don't give two flying fucks about, and we've got to do it within a time limit. No pressure there, then."

"The humans know that they can count on the aid of the Sangheili," said Dorva, who was inspecting his carbine rifle.

"I appreciate it, Dorva," said Alan, "but it's not enough. You saw what it took to bring down Sovereign at the Citadel, and even that was down to us getting lucky. We need more than just the Sangheili on our side at this time."

"But how do you expect to get everyone else to stop bickering long enough to help Earth?" asked Call. "Besides, Earth is just one planet to them; I don't think they fully understand just why humans are so important to the Reapers."

"In spite of the Precursors telling them over the past two months," Kiryuu grunted. "Many still see the fact that only humans have access to Technomancy as an act of favouritism." He closed his eyes and held a claw up to his forehead, the very image of barely-contained frustration. "Their stubbornness will be their undoing if we don't act fast, start calling in favours and get everyone speaking in the same room."

"Good thing humans can be a stubborn bunch, too," said Dorva, his mandibles oddly enough twisting into a smile. "They were able to fight the Covenant for over thirty years and won, when any other race in the galaxy would not have thought them capable of doing so. I'm sure the human race will not capitulate to the Reapers so easily, especially not with people like Admiral Anderson and Admiral Hackett leading them."

At this, Kiryuu nodded, putting on a brave face.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence in our people," said Kiryuu. "And you're right; we'll have to hope that Anderson can keep the peoples of Earth united and fighting until our galactic armada can get there. I have faith in him, but nonetheless we must hurry." He turned to Alan. "Before you go rushing off to Sanghelios though, Alan, I suggest making a stop at the Citadel, get a QEC installed on the _Serenity_."

"What's one of those?" asked Alan.

"A Quantum Entanglement Communicator," Kiryuu explained. "You saw how the Reapers are cutting off our lines of communication; at this rate, I think only short-range transmissions will be possible on regular bandwidths soon, maybe surface-to-orbit at most. Attempting to communicate any further than that will require a great deal of vigilance and luck. The QECs will allow instantaneous lag-free communication over long distances that cannot be disrupted, though it means you can only communicate with other installed QEC devices. We've got a few installed in key locations, though, so you should be able to speak to anyone involved in this fight. If you head to Sanghelios and find Telek, have him stop at the Citadel to get one installed on the _Shadow of Darkness_ too."

"Where did we get this technology?" asked Call.

"We reverse-engineered it from the _Normandy_ when she was impounded," said Kiryuu, a satisfied grin spreading across his snout. "It feels satisfying to be able to turn one of Cerberus' own tools against them." He gathered himself and resumed a more professional demeanour. "In any case, at least it'll be your reassurance that you're not alone in this fight. Just remember to keep us updated on your progress; we need all the intel we can get if we're going to pull this off."

At this, Kedzuel returned with Rachel and José, sans the children. Both of them couldn't suppress feelings of unease, neither of them wanting to leave their children behind while they headed off for a mission which they knew there was a slim chance of them coming back from.

"Everything sorted?" asked Alan.

"Yeah," said Rachel. "The kids are safe, and seem to be liking the space Kedzuel's given them." She looked around the ship, an odd smile forming on her face. "I just wish we could stay here longer. I'd love to get to know a ship like this better."

"Well," said Kedzuel, smiling, "if we survive this war, you can come here and poke around the ship to your heart's content."

"Wait a minute…" said Nicole, all of a sudden, looking grave. "How come the Reapers haven't gone after the Citadel yet? You'd think they'd try to regain control of the Relay Network and really screw us over."

"Well," began Kiryuu. "Kedzuel led a team in and managed to disable the central controls for the Mass Relays for the time being, at least for the Reapers..."

He turned back to the Blitzardi who chuckled and shrugged.

"I gave it one of my upgrades," Kedzuel said. "Or downgrade. However, subtlety wasn't my specialty. I was caught by C-Sec, who tossed me in jail."

"Indeed," said Kiryuu. "He called me up after I was dealing with the Invae in Chicago." Upon noticing the horrified look on Alan's face he quickly added, "Uh, they were getting out of the containment field. I get the call, Kedzuel's in jail."

"The food was nice," said Kedzuel. "Telek was helping me out. He was trying to get me out of jail. One of the reasons why was because my ship has his four ships inside of it and I was basically his ride home. The other reason–Zhane got on the line and demanded my release or he'd blow up the Citadel. C-Sec realised who I was and realised I have diplomatic immunity so, they let me go. But I decided to say I was going to blow up the Citadel anyways. Of course none of this was going out into civilian channels. No one knew that they had an angry battle chariot with its cannons armed, ready to atomize the station. They asked me why. I told them, well if you're not gonna let me fiddle with those Relay central controls to keep King Ghidorah from shutting off the Relay network, then, I'm just gonna destroy this whole place. Better it be gone and out of the enemy's hands. They didn't take me seriously, like I pretty much thought they wouldn't and I shrugged and grabbed Telek, ready to teleport back to the ship and said to them 'I hope you made peace with your maker'. They finally got the point then. I told them I much rather screw with a little control panel rather than taking out the entire station, but one way or another, King Ghidorah is not going to use this potential strategic advantage. We can do this easy, or we can do it real easy. Well, the Citadel is still there. They asked me why I didn't just tell them in the first place, I told them it was because they never would have let me do it."

Kiryuu sighed and wagged his head.

"The Relays still work though," said Kedzuel. "It's just that in order for King Ghidorah to shut them down–he's gonna need a new central control panel to do it. And bear in mind how long it took him to build the first–yeah–we've got nothing to worry about. For now."

"Well, at least we have an advantage we can press for the time-being," said Alan.

"Nonetheless," said Kedzuel, looking more serious, "I'm sure Kiryuu has already spelled out just how vital it is that you act fast and bring the peoples of this galaxy together, so I'll say no more on the subject. Is there anything else you want to know before you leave?"

"Just one thing," said Alan. "Has there been any word from Shepard yet?"

"Not since Hackett sent her to Mars," said Kiryuu. "We lost contact with the _Normandy_ over regular bandwidths."

"What's so special about Mars, anyway?" asked Nicole.

"It would take too long to explain all of the details," said Kedzuel, "but in her last transmission Liara seemed to think she found something in Forerunner databanks that could help us against the Reapers." His brow furrowed. "I'll believe it when I see it, but I say our best chance is still to have the might of the galaxy on our side. That's where people like you and Commander Shepard come in, Captain Tyler."

As Kedzuel spoke, Alan glanced behind his crew and noticed Gillian descending the cargo ramp. As soon as her feet touched the floor of the _Shi'lithra_ she looked down at the ripples spreading from where she stood with polite curiosity, and then proceeded to lay flat on the floor. She leaned her ear towards the floor, as if she was hearing something about the silent ship that the others couldn't hear. Alan noticed that she had done this a few times when she first came aboard the _Serenity_, and wondered if this was her way of making herself comfortable with stepping onto an unfamiliar ship. He turned away from this sight to address Rachel and José again.

"Are you two sure you're up for this?" he asked. "This may be the last time you can see your kids for a while."

"I think they're as safe as they can be right now," said Rachel, trying not to look forlorn. "I already told you that I'd made my mind up; _Serenity_ needs me right now." She nodded, looking braver. "Let's do this, Captain."

"We're ready when you are, amigo," José chimed in. "Let's go kick some Reaper ass."

"I think we're gonna need a really big boot to be able to do that," sighed Rachel, as husband and wife made their way back to the _Serenity_.

"You guys prep for departure then," said Alan. "There are a couple of things I need to ask about first." As the others began to head back into the ship, Nicole helping Gillian to her feet, Alan approached Kedzuel.

"I need to talk to you about Gillian," he said. 

"Why?" asked Kedzuel, throwing a concerned look at Gillian as she walked back up the ramp next to Nicole. "I regret that we haven't had time to help teach her how to use her Technomancy properly. Is something wrong with her?"

"I don't know," said Alan, shaking his head and running a claw through his hair. "It's just that, the other night, Nicole went to check on her while she was sleeping. She told me that Gillian was Connected while she was asleep, those cords of hers all over her cabin. Not only that, but she was muttering as well, like she was talking to someone in her sleep. Is it even possible for someone to Connect without meaning to?"

"Well," said Kedzuel. "Sometimes we need to have something beaten into our skulls before we see the answer clearly. Has she suffered any adverse effects from over taxing her mind with the Connection? Haemorrhaging? Blood coming out of her nose or ears? Seizures?"

"None that I've seen," replied Alan. "And none that she's told us about."

Kedzuel let out a deep sigh.

"Then there's nothing I can suggest other than to keep a close eye on her," said Kedzuel. "The human mind can only take being Connected for so long. If it looks like she's burning herself out then bring her back here immediately. I won't let any of you be placed in danger over this."

"Got it," said Alan, nodding. "Well, we'd better get going. Looks like we've got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it."

"Alan," began Kiryuu. "Take care out there. Though you've never seen what it was like when we had to deal with the Covenant, always hiding Earth away to prevent something like this from happening–protect the only home we truly have–but there was always a sense of dread that we were just buying time before the big finish. However, we managed to win despite Earth being discovered. We can win this too."

"Alan, if there's any consolation for this," began Kedzuel. "I know the plan will work. We've tested the main weapons for the battle chariots we've got built and they work. Once I've finished the last of the Shi-Class ships, we'll open up a NO-Void Gate and bring the whole Kethosi Armada here. Ships as big as what the Sangheili have and thrice as powerful, newer, and faster than this archaic clunker. King Ghidorah won't know what hit him."

Alan nodded, and then headed back into the _Serenity_. As he closed the cargo ramp he caught one last look at Kiryuu's worried-looking face, and he couldn't help feeling as anxious as the bio-mechanical being looked. It was as if, after all these centuries, they both finally understood each other.

_All it took was the end of all life as we know it to realise it,_ Alan thought in bitter amusement as the airlock door closed and the engines started.

0

The doors to the Martian Archive slid open, the sleek, shining interior a stark contrast to the dusty surface of Mars outside. Stepping deeper inside, weapons at the ready and watching every surface anxiously, Shepard, Kaidan and Liara stepped into the cavernous Forerunner control room. All Forerunner facilities had almost identical layouts, so this control room was no different than the ones that other UNSC teams had discovered on facilities such as the Halos and the Shield Installations. Much speculation still existed on what exactly this particular outpost had been used for, though the most popular theory was that it was an outpost the Forerunners used to keep an eye on the upstart humans, long after the entire race had been de-evolved from the galaxy-spanning empire they once were to their prehistoric state. The Forerunners had done this out of their jealousy of humans being chosen to wield the gift of Technomancy, believing that humans were too dangerous to use it. The fact that it had apparently been constructed on top of the ruins of a similar Prothean facility aided theories on the galaxy revolving around a series of cycles, most notable the Cycle of Extinction which Liara and her friends had proven was all-too-real only two years ago.

Feeling a sense of trepidation, the trio stepped into the control room. The controls had been activated, and even now a series of holographic displays could be seen filling the space at the end of a large walkway. While Kaidan stayed near the entrance to keep an eye on the perimeter, Shepard and Liara ran to the console, the former at once trying to access the data that was supposed to be so valuable to the war effort. Shepard looked around her feverishly, knowing that they couldn't have much time before Cerberus – or worse, the Reapers – showed up again.

"Shepard…" a smooth older-sounding voice with a Southern-State drawl said from close by. Looking off to the side, Shepard saw that someone had left a QEC panel on the floor, much like the one she had installed on the _Normandy_. The hologram now being displayed showed an older man wearing an immaculate dark suit, his hair grey and neatly-styled, and his artificial eyes a piercing blue colour. In one hand he held a cigarette, taking a drag from it and looking at Shepard with narrowed eyes. At the sound of his voice, Liara spun around and drew her pistol; though she knew the bullet would not do any good, she felt more comfortable pointing a weapon at the face of the only being she despised more than the Reapers.

"Illusive Man…" she hissed, her own eyes narrowed. The Illusive Man ignored her and looked behind her at the holographic displays.

"Fascinating race, the Forerunners," he drawled. "They were more like humans than they cared to admit. Like us, they knew that the previous civilisation had left so much for them to discover, and like us, they squandered it all. The UNSC has known about these archives for over thirty years, and what have they done with it?"

"What do you want?" snarled Shepard, frowning.

"What I've always wanted," the Illusive Man breathed. "The data in these artefacts holds the key to solving the threat of the Reapers."

"I've seen your solution," spat Shepard. "Your people are turned into monsters."

"Hardly," hissed the Illusive Man, his expression turning cold. "They're being improved." Ignoring the incredulous look on Shepard's face, he continued. "That's what separates me from you and all those you call allies, Shepard; where you all see a means to destroy, I see a way to control – to dominate and harness King Ghidorah's powers. Imagine how strong humanity would be if we could control him…"

"Earth is under siege," said Shepard, shaking her head in disbelief, "and you're hatching a scheme to control the creator of the Reapers?!"

"You've always been short-sighted," the Illusive Man drawled smoothly. "Hasty. Your destruction of the Collector Base proved that."

"You should damn well know the reason I destroyed it," Shepard retorted. "I don't like you or your methods, but I wouldn't wish indoctrination on my worst enemies. Besides, I didn't trust you with the information."

"This isn't your fight anymore, Shepard," said the Illusive Man, taking another drag from his cigarette. "You can't defeat the Reapers, even with the Precursors on your side."

"Then work with us," said Shepard, deciding to try the path of reason. "Give us full control of your resources, and we'll find a way to stop them."

"You'd do better than most," said the Illusive Man, shaking his head. "But the odds aren't in your favour. More importantly, I don't want the Reapers destroyed. We can dominate them, use their power, harness their very essence to bring humanity to the apex of evolution!" Shepard sighed, shaking her head. From the way he was speaking, the Illusive Man seemed to have gone beyond the pale.

"You've gone too far," she hissed. "The Reapers will kill us all if we don't stop fighting each other!"

"I don't expect you to understand, Shepard," the Illusive Man retorted. "And I'm certainly not looking for your approval. You were a tool, an agent with a singular purpose, and despite our differences you were relatively successful." He looked behind him for a moment, as if checking that someone was in the same room he was in. "But like the rest of the relics in this place, your time is over."

"Enough talk," Shepard grunted, turning back to Liara. The Asari nodded and went back to work on the control panel, looking for the right file.

"Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard," the Illusive Man concluded, pointing at her. "I won't warn you again."

"Duly noted," Shepard hissed, as the Illusive Man's holographic image faded.

"Shepard!" Liara called. "The data's not here! It's being erased!"

"Damn it!" Shepard grunted. "How's he doing it?!"

"It's local," said Liara, her eyes fixed on the holographic displays before her. "Someone's uploading the information."

Walking back towards the entrance, Kaidan spotted someone that hadn't been there when they first walked in, stood by a UNSC data terminal that had been installed. The figure was female, with rigid brown hair that didn't seem to move and wearing UNSC lab garments. She was poring over the displays in front of her, looking at pages of Forerunner text. Kaidan raised his rifle and approached her.

"Hey!" he barked. "Step away from the console!" As the displays were closed down, Kaidan approached the woman, but all of a sudden the figure swatted him with a backhand, quickly followed by a roundhouse kick. Shocked at the strength of such a tiny woman, Kaidan was knocked to the floor. Using her Omni-Tool, the intruder then punched the console, smashing it to smithereens.

"Shepard!" Kaidan barked into his communicator as the woman ran. "Liara! She's got the data!"

"After her!" Shepard barked, pulling up her communicator. "James, Cerberus has the data! Radio the _Normandy_! Get them down here now!"

She and Liara ran past Kaidan, hot in pursuit of the intruder. Liara recognised her as Dr. Eva Core, a researcher who had turned out to be an insider for Cerberus. Security footage had revealed that she had disabled the security systems and killed most of the researchers through use of a toxic gas in the ventilation systems, one that had only lasted long enough to do its dirty work and leave the place ripe for the taking.

As she and Shepard charged through the door to the facility and back out onto the walkway leading to the tram station, she was horrified to find a Cerberus shuttle already waiting there, hovering in place, its door wide open. With a deft leap, the scientist jumped straight into the shuttle, and immediately it began to take off. Shepard stopped right by the landing site, Liara and Kaidan running to catch up to her.

"Damn it!" Shepard barked, breathing hard as she watched the shuttle pull away. "James? _Normandy_? Anybody?!"

"_I got this one!"_ Vega's determined voice suddenly called through her commlink, and looking up she saw the _Normandy_'s own shuttle rapidly approaching. A second later there was a loud crunch of metal on metal as Vega rammed the Cerberus shuttle, causing the ground team to dive out of the way as it careened towards them. The shuttle smashed onto the walkway, then collided with the door to the control centre. It was hopelessly wrecked, on fire and completely unable to fly.

The shuttle landed roughly close to the ground team, all of whom were miraculously unharmed, though it soon became clear that the shuttle would not be taking off again anytime soon. The door opened and Vega stepped out, looking as if mid-air collisions in shuttles were an everyday occurrence for him.

"_Normandy_'s en-route," he said. "They'll be here soon."

"We can't leave without the data!" said Liara, as she was helped to her feet by Kaidan. For one moment Shepard was afraid that the data had been destroyed or Dr. Core had died in the crash.

However, there was a groaning noise and a sound of something punching metal, coming from the shuttle. Next instant the hatch was flung violently off its hinges, crashing down close to Liara and Kaidan. Then the biggest surprise of all came when Dr. Core herself stepped out of the flaming wreckage, but now her skin had been stripped away, revealing a body made of metal that was now singed, a holographic visor before her eyes. She was an android, and one with what the group assumed to be a sophisticated artificial intelligence on board. Doubtless Cerberus had created this figure, much like how they had created EDI, the _Normandy_'s own AI. However, unlike EDI, it was clear that Eva was completely loyal to Cerberus' cause.

In an instant, Kaidan pushed Liara back and pulled out his pistol, opening fire on the android. However, the bullets seemed to bounce off her as she charged him, snatching his pistol out of his hand and tossing it away. Suddenly she engulfed his face in her palm, actually lifting him off the ground as she held onto his face, seeming to be trying to suffocate him. Kaidan kicked his legs uselessly at the air, and every time he tried to reach behind his head the android squeezed, as if threatening to crush his head like an over-ripe melon if he tried to use his Technomancy. All he could do was flail and try to push the android away, but to no effect.

"Kaidan!" Shepard yelled upon seeing this, pulling out her pistol. "Let him go!" she barked at the robot in her most dangerous voice. The figure once known as Eva Core only looked away, raising her commlink.

"Orders, sir?" she asked, her voice showing no hint of emotion.

"_Dispose of him,"_ the Illusive Man's voice hissed in her ear. Upon hearing this, Eva lifted the struggling Technomancer high above her head and kneeled down. Before Shepard could stop her, she suddenly threw Kaidan down onto her knee, a move which looked strong enough to break his back. He lay there, limp, as the android proceeded to punch him repeatedly in the face, her fist becoming more and more covered in blood as she tried to smash it in completely.

Horrified, Shepard, Vega and Liara all opened fire at the same time, time seeming to slow down for Shepard as she did so. Under such sustained firepower, the android was finally pierced as the bullets penetrated her body, recoiling and then falling limply to the floor. Her sensors had overloaded and the intense feedback had caused her body to shut down. Her breathing hard, her eyes wide, Shepard ran towards Kaidan's limp form, noticing that he was not moving.

"Grab that thing!" she yelled to Vega, pointing at Eva. "Bring it with us!"

"_Shepard!"_ Joker's voice suddenly said over the commlink. _"We've got Reaper signatures in orbit!"_ The loud whining of the _Normandy_'s engines drew closer, and the ship soon arrived on the scene, hovering just above the walkway. Liara and Vega clambered onto the cargo ramp, Vega carrying Eva's body. Kaidan didn't even stir as Shepard picked up his lifeless body and carried him to the _Normandy_.

Horrible panicked thoughts ran through Shepard's mind as she carried her fallen comrade to the ship's medical bay, and the ship sped out of the now Reaper-dominated Sol System. If anything had happened to the man she cared about more than anyone else in the whole galaxy, she knew she would never be able to forgive herself. She felt that the price of obtaining this data was too high.


	4. Desperate Deliberations

**Desperate Deliberations**

_**1619, October 31**__**st**__** 2560 (Military Time)\Citadel**_

Alan paced in front of the vast window in the docking bay, which looked out over the five immense arms of the Citadel station, stretching out into the purple gaseous Serpent Nebula. The great O'Neill cylinder had acted as the seat of galactic power for countless years, as well as the hub of the Mass Relay network, as it had done for all other galactic civilisations before it, none of them ever suspecting the true origins of the station or the Relay network. In what Alan considered to be an ironic twist of fate, the instrument that was intended to bring doom to the galaxy now seemed to be becoming its safest refuge, if the number of ships streaming into the Citadel and blocking traffic was anything to go by.

Evacuees were already streaming here from all corners of the galaxy, as more and more populations sought to escape from the wrath of the Reapers. The whole galaxy was under attack, swiftly and without error, by these creatures that were composed of the ground-down remains of all their previous victims. Now the lives of complacency that everyone had attempted to maintain on the Citadel, in spite of the attack two years ago, were being irreversibly shattered. Alan had wandered through the lower docking bays, which had been converted into emergency civilian shelters, and had seen people of all races, though mostly humans and Batarians, as so far those two races had been the heaviest-hit. Doubtless more would join the painful exodus as the war continued, though at present it seemed less a war to Alan and more like extermination. Nearby, he overheard an Asari speaking in worried tones to her Turian lover, who had been called up to fight, and wondered if similar conversations were taking place all over the galaxy. Every race would now experience total galactic war, as he knew that within the next few days the Reapers would be on the doorsteps of every race.

The rest of his team were elsewhere while they were waiting for the QEC to be installed on the _Serenity_. José, Dorva and Nicole were stocking up on supplies and ammunition, unsure about how long it would be until they could next dock at the Citadel or anywhere else they could restock. Gillian was tagging along with them, as Nicole seemed to be one of the few _Serenity_ crew members she felt comfortable being around. Rachel and Call, meanwhile, were picking up spare parts for the ship and overseeing the installation of the QEC. None of them looked entirely comfortable being on the station, and Alan knew that he couldn't blame them, feeling much the same way himself.

It had been with a sense of great trepidation that he had seen the _Normandy_ dock, the area apparently having been reserved for that one sleek ship. He wanted to know exactly what it was that Liara had found on Mars, even though he couldn't help but feel that it was a waste of time to go looking into these things. However, that thought was pushed out of his mind as he was startled to see a medical team running out of the airlock, pulling Kaidan along on a gurney. The Technomancer looked a mess, his body bruised and battered, bleeding profusely from his nose and other lacerations on his face. Shepard was also running alongside the stretcher, determined to keep up, and behind her were Dr. T'Soni and a human soldier he didn't recognise.

"Barely got a pulse here!" he heard one doctor say as he stood back to let them get past him.

"Move 'em out!" a Turian medic called.

"Where are you taking him?" asked Shepard, her face lined with concern.

"Huerta Memorial," the Turian doctor called behind him. "Best care on the Citadel."

Looking forlorn, Shepard stopped, her eyes never leaving the stretcher as it rounded a corner and passed through a security checkpoint, heading for the elevator. Shepard's companions stopped beside her, looking confused.

"We're not goin' with?" the soldier asked.

"We need to see the Council," said Liara. Shepard turned to look out of the window, and saw Alan standing there. The mutant approached her, looking unnerved by the expression of deepest worry on Shepard's face.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He's in a bad way," sighed Shepard, her emerald-green eyes peering into Alan's golden cat-like ones. "The doctors say it's a miracle he's alive." She closed her eyes. Whatever had happened on Mars, the strain was clearly getting to her.

"Hate to interrupt," the soldier then chimed in, "but it looks like the Council might be comin' to see you."

Shepard and Alan turned towards the checkpoint. Coming through it was an older human wearing a C-Sec uniform, his buzz-cut hair bleached blonde and his face old and line-ridden, given the impression of a seasoned veteran. His piercing blue eyes gave Alan the feeling he was being X-rayed.

"Commander Shepard," the stranger said in a gravelly tone as he approached them. "Captain Tyler. Got word you were arriving."

"Captain Bailey," said Shepard, shaking hands with him. "It's good to see you again."

Alan didn't know Bailey personally, but he was an old acquaintance of Shepard. Months ago he had helped her to resolve a family issue that had been lingering with a member of her strike team for years.

"You too," said Bailey, looking a little flustered. "Though it's 'Commander' now. Udina put me in charge of C-Sec."

"Congratulations?" said Shepard, sounding unsure. She had noticed that Bailey had sounded uneasy then, as if he felt he didn't really want or deserve the promotion.

"In charge?" asked Alan. "What happened to Executor Pallin?"

"Long story," sighed Bailey, again sounding like this was a topic he wasn't comfortable talking about. "All that matters now is that half my job now involves dealing with political bullshit and escorting dignitaries around. No offence."

"None taken," said Shepard. "So you're here to bring us to the Council?"

"I'm here to tell you that the Council is expecting you," said Bailey, "but they're dealing with their own… problems. With the war and everything. They apologise for the inconvenience and blah, blah, blah…You're to meet them in the main Council chamber. They'll be ready soon enough."

"Here's an idea," said Alan, turning to Shepard. "You go visit Kaidan in the hospital. Liara and I will talk to the Council ourselves. I need to be there anyway to bring word from the _Shi'lithra_."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Shepard.

"Yeah, it's no big deal," shrugged Alan. "Kaidan could use someone close to him right now. Let me go kick some sense into the Council this time."

"Alright," Shepard nodded. "I appreciate it, Alan."

"We'll head to the Council Chamber now then," said Liara.

"What about you, James?" Shepard asked the soldier.

"I'm just a tourist today," Vega shrugged. "I'll try not to get into any trouble." With that, he wandered off heading towards the viewing area, while Alan and Liara strode through the checkpoint. On the other side was the elevator which led to other areas on the Presidium ring, and a public shuttle. Alan opened the door of the cab and he and Liara sat inside. They input their destination and paid their fare, and with a lurch the cab set off, following an auto-pilot course towards the Council Chamber.

"By the way," sighed Liara, "hello, Alan." Alan just nodded. Judging from what he had seen in the docks, whatever had happened on Mars had shaken up Liara and her group badly, so Alan decided not to broach the subject. Oddly enough, however, it was Liara who decided to speak first.

"How is Kedzuel?" she asked. "I haven't been able to speak to him since Hackett dispatched me to Mars."

"He's trying to be confident," said Alan, "trying to assure me everything will work. He seems sure that he can bring the rest of the Kethosi armada here." He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I can see it in his eyes, though; he's as worried as everyone else. This attack's hitting everyone hard, and I don't know if we did enough to prepare."

"Kedzuel had so much to do," said Liara, "and not enough time to do it. None of us could have anticipated the Reapers reaching our galaxy so quickly. They're more powerful than we thought…" She sighed, looking out of the window with a forlorn expression. "I'm needed on the _Normandy_, but if this is really the end of life as we know it, I would have liked to have spent my last hours with him…"

Alan turned to look at Liara, his brow raised, wondering what Liara meant by that. However, at that moment the taxi touched down outside the enormous Citadel Tower, and Liara was clearly in a hurry to share her discoveries with the Council. Deciding that this wasn't the time or place for personal questions, he followed her into the elevator and both rode up to the Council Chamber. During the ride the on-board speakers were still broadcasting emergency news bulletins. The Council did acknowledge that the giant machines that were terrorising the galaxy were called Reapers, but the reports referred to Shepard as 'disgraced', something which made Liara's face crunch up in disgust. Alan of course had heard about the incident in the Bahak System and Shepard's arrest, but his only thought on the matter was that Shepard would not have done such a thing without a very good reason.

The Council Chamber itself was a magnificent space, resembling a vast cathedral with a very high ceiling. Alan and Liara strode up the steps, past the large fountain and through a waiting area lined with cherry blossom trees. As they approached the last set of steps, however, a Turian C-Sec guard stepped before them, his hawk-like eyes peering at them out of his stiff, skull-like face.

"They're expecting you now, Dr. T'Soni," he said in clipped tones, before turning to look at Shepard. "Though I was told to expect Commander Shepard to be with you…"

"She's indisposed," said Alan. "I'm here on her behalf. I also have urgent news that I must deliver to the Council."

"Captain Tyler speaks with my authority," nodded Liara. The guard looked between the two for a moment, then pressed some buttons on his hard-light Omni-Tool, before he finally nodded and stepped aside.

"Okay," he said. "They know you're here. Go right on up; they're in session now."

Alan and Liara wasted no time in marching up the final flight of steps and into the main Council area itself. They stepped onto a long walkway suspended over a large rock garden. Before them was a row of gigantic windows looking out over the gaseous nebula, softly-lit by the sun, and right below those windows were the four Council members themselves, each representing the main Council races. Alan could feel the penetrating glares coming from everyone stood in the viewing areas above them; all eyes were on both him and Liara to provide a solution to the problem of the Reapers, a solution which Alan wasn't entirely sure they could provide.

"We've got our own problems, Councillor," Valern, the Turian Councillor, with his white facial tattoos and smart blue and red suit, was saying to the human Councillor. "Earth isn't in this alone."

"But Earth was the first Council world hit," replied Donnel Udina, the human Councillor. Alan knew Udina from previous encounters, back when he was still an Ambassador for Earth and her colonies alongside Kiryuu. Anderson's retirement from the Council position was well-publicised, but very few knew the precise details as to why he resigned. Alan remembered the grey-haired, dark-skinned Udina in his white suit and blue turtleneck jumper as being a very sly and cunning character, the stereotypical politician, but seeing him on the podium with the rest of the Councillors, he looked as shaken as every other human he had seen in the Citadel so far. For the first time in years, Alan began to pity him.

"By all reports it faces the brunt of the attack," he continued.

"By your reports…" the Salarian Councillor, Ikram, interrupted in his reedy voice, holding a hand up, his large black eyes and the grey skin of his thin face just visible under the hood of the dark robe with red and gold trim he was wearing.

"The reports are accurate," Alan called from the walkway, the Councillors turning to face him and now noticing both him and Liara for the first time. "Earth was attacked by the Reapers, and hit hard. We all know that this is just the beginning. I'm assuming you've all seen Commander Shepard's report from the Collector base; we know what the Reapers want to do to humanity, and since humans are the only race besides the Precursors that can use Technomancy, I'm sure even you can figure out why we must make every effort to retake Earth as soon as possible." He paused for a moment, taking in the faces of each alien Council member. "We need your help. Everything you can spare."

"Each of us faces a similar situation," said Councillor Tevos, the Asari Councillor, wearing her red and white evening gown and her tattooed face looking very grave. "Even now the Reapers are pressing on our borders. If we lend you our own strength to help Earth, we will fall."

"We must fight this enemy together!" said Udina, a look of deep pleading on his face. "You heard it from Emperor Kedzuel himself; no one species can fight the Reapers by themselves!"

"And so we should just follow you to Earth?!" Ikram spat, his eyes narrowed, but Valern held up a hand to silence him before turning back to Alan.

"Even if we were to unite our fleets," he said, "and even if we had the strength of the Precursors behind us, do you really believe that we could defeat the Reapers?"

"Kedzuel wouldn't expect anybody to follow him without a plan," said Alan, his arms folded, "and neither do I. I've been assured that the _Shi'lithra_ is combat-ready, and the other Shi-class ships are almost finished. They'll improve our chances against the Reapers when we launch the assault on Earth, and with any luck we'll even be able to bring in reinforcements from the rest of the Kethosi armada."

"But the rest of the Kethosi are still in the Andromeda galaxy," said Ikram, shaking his head. "How does the Emperor expect to get them here on time?"

"He assures me that he has the technology to make it possible," said Alan. "Still, his forces need time to get their ships ready, and our forces have to hold out until then. I know it's a tall order, but it's the best chance we've got."

The four Councillors were silent for a moment, apparently considering what Alan had just said. The looks on the faces of the three alien Councillors suggested that they were very unsure about this plan; clearly they didn't expect their forces to last long enough to buy Kedzuel the time he needed. Even Udina looked unsure, apparently hoping for a plan that could be implemented more quickly.

"What about the information you recovered from Mars, Dr. T'Soni?" Udina asked Liara. At this Liara stepped forward, projecting what looked like a set of holographic schematics from her Omni-Tool, showing various parts of what looked like a gigantic machine, as large as the Citadel itself.

"We were able to recover this blueprint from the Mars archives," said Liara. "It was created by the Protheans during their war with the Reapers, later recovered by the Forerunners."

"A blueprint for what?" asked Valern, his eyes focused on the plans hovering above Liara's arm.

"We're still piecing it together," said Liara, "but it appears to be a device of some sort."

"Capable of destroying the Reapers?" asked Ikram, a hand placed on his chin.

"I don't know," replied Liara, sounding unsure. "At this stage, I am not even sure it is a weapon at all."

"The scale is…" Ikram continued, stammering. "It would be a colossal undertaking!"

"It is not ours to undertake," said Liara. "Even if it was incomplete, the data suggests that it would be entirely feasible to construct it with our technology. Fortunately, according to the research logs, the device, which we have codenamed the 'Crucible' was completed, but was hidden away somewhere in this galaxy. The Protheans may have been wiped out before they had a chance to deploy it, but the superstructure should be intact. However, the data that reveals the exact location of the device is missing, and we're keeping an eye out for it now. Also, there was a missing component, something only referred to as the 'Catalyst', but the data on what exactly the Catalyst is appears to be missing, and evidently the Protheans ran out of time before they could locate and add it to the Crucible."

"Can this device really stop the Reapers?" asked Valern.

"I don't know," said Alan. "This is the first I've heard about it."

"I should also mention that Cerberus was also on Mars, looking for these exact plans," said Liara. "There's every chance they've been able to make a copy of them, and are no doubt trying as much as we are to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. Whatever they are doing, they've already shown that they have no interest in co-operating with us against the Reapers."

"So it may be worth our time to find this thing anyway," said Alan, looking thoughtful. "Even if we don't use it ourselves, we can't let Cerberus get their hands on it." His back stood straighter as he peered at the Councillors – Udina in-particular – with a determined gleam. "I still say our best chance is for all our fleets to unite and launch a counterattack, with the Precursors as our allies. While I haven't always agreed with Udina, he's right about this; we need to stand together, now more than ever." He folded his arms and narrowed his reptilian eyes. "You know as well as I do that the Reapers won't stop at Earth. They'll destroy or assimilate every being in the galaxy if we don't find a way to stop them, and if they find a way to construct a Reaper with the power of Technomancy at its command then you can kiss everything everywhere goodbye!"

Udina, Valern and Tevos all peered at Ikram, who shook his head. Alan frowned, taking this as a sign that the Council had already made up their minds. Tevos turned back to face Alan, her face in deep mourning.

"The cruel and unfortunate truth," she said, "is that while the Reapers focus on Earth we can prepare and regroup."

"We are convening a summons among our species," said Ikram, while Udina held his head in his hand, looking utterly despondent. "If we can manage to secure our own borders, we may once again consider aiding you."

"I'm sorry, Captain," Tevos chimed in. "That is the best we can do." Before Alan could argue any further, the Councillors left the podium, Valern giving one last look at them before following his colleagues. Udina stayed behind for a moment. 

"Tyler," he said, "meet me at my office. It's the same one in the embassies we used before. I'll send word for Shepard to meet us there." Then he followed the rest of the Council out of the chamber. Liara sighed, turning to look at Alan, who looked furious. 

"Let's just hope that he's giving an offer of support," she said. "I'll keep digging up what I can about the Crucible while I'm travelling with Shepard. Right now, I'll rejoin with Lt. Vega and prepare for our departure." She turned to leave, but said to Alan in a low tone, looking worried. "If you see Kedzuel again, tell him I want to speak to him as soon as possible. I…"

Without finishing her sentence, however, she walked out of the Council Chamber, leaving Alan both confused by Liara's behaviour and angered at the Council's inaction. He only hoped that whatever Udina wanted to speak to him about, it would be more encouraging than what had just transpired.

0

Huerta Memorial Hospital was constructed into one of the long walkways that crossed to each end of the Presidium ring. Every wall was a window looking out over the lush, garden-like interior, the lake running peacefully underneath and splitting the two landmasses filled with greenery and neat buildings. The ceiling displayed a large hologram simulating a peaceful evening sky. The whole scene was a direct contrast to the chaos and disaster that even now was spreading from Earth across the galaxy. To Shepard's mind, as she walked through the hospital, the whole scene felt perverse, almost as if the whole Citadel was actively trying to lull all the refugees into a false sense of security.

Given who created the Citadel, Shepard found that idea very easy to believe. She strode along the length of the hospital to a private ward that had been allocated to Kaidan. The doctor immediately stood aside to allow her in, and when she walked into the room her heart sank. Kaidan was still unconscious, his body covered in bruises and lacerations. The only encouraging sign was that his breathing was steady. As she perched herself on a stool next to the bed, she found herself having to fight back tears. She was sure that she now had a good idea about how Kaidan felt when he had believed her to be dead.

"Kaidan?" she breathed. For the first time she could recall, she found herself struggling to think of anything to say. "God… It's hard seeing you like this." She thought about the last time they had properly spoken, prior to Mars, and the scars and mistrust that the Illusive Man had driven between them, but this felt much worse.

"Don't know if you can hear me," she said softly, "but since you can't tell me to get the hell out either, I'll take my chances…" She paused a moment, trying to gather her words before her nerve broke. "Don't die, Kaidan. You've got to fight. We need you in this… Seeing you in action again… reminded me that you're a hell of a soldier. The galaxy could sure use you…" Her head hung and her eyes closed. "I could use you…" Several minutes of silence passed, as Shepard held Kaidan's hand in hers. Some part of her was sure that Kaidan hadn't heard her at all, but if there was even the smallest chance he had then it would have been worth it. After a minute she slowly stood up and turned to the attending doctor.

"You need anything, doc, let me know," she said. The doctor simply nodded, absorbed in his job of getting Kaidan back on his feet. Shepard leaned over the fallen Technomancer and stroked his forehead gently.

"Come on, Kaidan…" she breathed. "Fight." With that, she began to walk back towards the door. At the last minute, she turned and whispered to him; "And that's an order."

With a heavy heart, Shepard stepped out of the ward. It was then that she checked her Omni-Tool and found a message from Councillor Udina himself. He was asking to meet her in his office, as the Council meeting was over. His tone suggested that things had not gone well. Sighing wearily, she walked through the hospital and headed towards the embassies. She passed crowds of people of all different races, more and more people joining the sad exodus from their homes; sad, weary women, their children stumbling and streaked with tears, the men bitter and angry. The rich were rubbing shoulders with beggars and outcasts, and here and there were wounded soldiers, as helpless as the rest.

She remembered the path to the old embassy office as if she had only been on the Citadel the previous day. It was now used as the office of the human Councillor, and it remained sparsely-decorated on the inside, with a large desk and two chairs, three holographic terminals lined against one wall, and on another wall there were large murals depicting the insignias of the United Nations Space Command and the Orion Alliance. A large balcony ran along the entire back wall, looking out over the Presidium. Upon entering the room she saw Alan, his eyes narrowed and holding his chin in his hand, and Udina, leaning on the desk and looking bitter.

"They're a bunch of self-concerned jackasses, Tyler," Udina was fuming.

"I'm guessing the meeting with the Council didn't go so well?" asked Shepard, a dark expression on her face.

"Total bloody disaster," muttered Alan. "I hate to think how Kedzuel's going to react when he finds out about this. The worst of it is we should have seen it coming a mile off."

"We may have a place on the Council," snarled Udina, "but humanity will always be considered second-rate. I would bet anything that they're jealous of how we were chosen to wield Technomancy."

"How could they be so blind?" said Shepard, shaking her head in disgust. "They know what will happen if the Reapers succeed in their plans for us, and that isn't motivation enough for them to help?"

"We saved their lives, and for what?" muttered Alan. "Apologies that boil down to 'maybe later'."

"Yes," nodded Udina, "and if we don't do something fast, 'Maybe Later' will end up as an epitaph on a mass grave of every life-form in this galaxy and beyond." He held his head in his hand. "They're scared, and they're looking out for themselves."

"Our people are scared," a voice suddenly said from the doorway. "And we're looking out for them the best we know how."

Turning towards the door, the three Earthlings discovered that the voice belonged to Councillor Valern. It was highly unusual for any Council member to visit the office of another in-person; usually all debates and discussions were made via the communications channels outside of a full Council meeting. The Turian stepped into the office and approached the trio, who stood in shocked silence for a moment, unable to comprehend how to deal with this. Alan looked as if he was on the verge of lashing out at the Councillor.

"Commander, Captain," Valern continued, addressing Shepard and Alan. "I must pass on my apologies to Emperor Draconis as soon as possible. Unfortunately I can't get him what he needs…" He paused for a moment, holding his hands behind his back. "But I can tell you how to get it."

"I'm listening," said Alan, though he still looked at Valern as if daring him to explain his inaction earlier.

"Primarch Fedorian called the war summit," said Valern, but then he turned and looked away from the group. Alan knew that Turian faces were mostly expressionless, and wondered if this gesture was the Councillor's way of showing that something had gone wrong without saying so.

"But we lost contact with him when the Reapers hit Palaven," the Turian continued, proving Alan right. "Those meetings won't proceed without him." He then turned back to the group, looking at Shepard in-particular. "The _Normandy_ is one of the few ships that can extract Primarch Fedorian undetected."

Shepard, however, looked unimpressed. "We told you that this would happen long ago," she spat, "and you did nothing."

"We can argue the past later, if you like," replied Valern. "But the leaders of this summit will be the ones deciding our future; the fate of our fleets, who they fight, and with whom. As powerful as the Kethosi Emperor is he doesn't know all of our people, how they think, how they fight or how they will co-operate with other races. If we're to have any chance of winning this war he needs to get the leaders of every military force in the galaxy talking in the same room, starting with the Council races. A grateful Primarch would be a tremendous ally in his bid to unite us."

"We're at war, Councillor," Alan snarled, shaking his head, "and you want us to play politician?!"

"If it gets you what you need, what does it matter?" Valern retorted. Ignoring Alan's indignant scoff, he continued. "Our latest intelligence suggests that the Primarch was moved to a base on Menae, Palaven's largest moon." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I've done all I can to help. The rest is up to you."

With that, he turned and began to walk back towards the door. Alan had to resist the urge to say that it was always up to him and Shepard to sort out the Council's problems, but held himself in. Then the Councillor paused and turned around, bringing up his Omni-Tool.

"There is one other thing," he said. "The Council wanted me to tell you, Commander, that we have chosen to uphold your Spectre status." He then turned to Alan. "Captain Tyler, we have also seen fit to grant you emergency Spectre privileges, until the crisis is over. Various resources will be made available to the both of you. Good day." With that, he marched straight out of the room and back to his own office.

"Well, that went well," said Alan, the sarcasm so thick it could be cut with a knife. Shepard, however, was beginning to look thoughtful.

"It's a start," said Udina, sitting back down at his desk. "I'll talk to the others in the meantime, see if we can support this summit and move things along."

"I've already made my mind up to go to Sanghelios," said Alan. "If we're gonna get everyone involved in this summit, we need someone speaking for the Sangheili fleets. Something tells me that's not a job for Telek, though; he's got a lot of good qualities, but working his way through a political minefield isn't one of them." He turned to face Udina. "Talking of which, don't you have options when the other Councillors block you like this?"

"With Parliament destroyed and the Office of Naval Intelligence gone," said Udina, "I have more power than any human in history, but you saw today how little that is." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I never fully understood before now the frustrations that Kiryuu Knight faced dealing with the Council on a daily basis. I did what I did to him two years ago fearing that he would destroy everything we had tried to accomplish since we came to the Citadel… However, he and Anderson are the type of people that need to be in this position, people who can get results, but even then they would struggle without the carrot or the stick that we need to drive this particular mule. Our own armada is tied down either fighting or fleeing, and with Earth's comm. buoys gone our economy is reduced to an I.O.U." He tried to look more determined, but the effect was unconvincing. "But leave that to me. I'll lean on our colonies for all they're worth, and I can broker enough trade to resupply and repair Hackett's fleet."

"You think there are any angles we can pursue with the Councillors?" asked Shepard.

"Tevos is a diplomat and compromiser," said Udina, "but she's wrapped up in defending Asari space like a mother panther. Ikram is out of his depth. The Salarians like their wars won before they start. They're frightened now, and we need to use that to our advantage." He looked towards the door as if expecting someone to be listening in. "As for Valern, I wouldn't be so quick to throw away his olive branch, though Lord knows I understand your frustration with him. It's strange days when the Turians are the least hostile of the Council races to humans, and we do need someone who can help Kedzuel to co-ordinate the Turian fleets and inspire the other Council races to get off their backsides."

"Any news from Earth?" asked Alan.

"There is constant news," said Udina, looking grim. "All of it bad. The Reapers are destroying satellites, the Orbital Defence platforms, and even the old nuclear missile silos, along with everything else that could help. We have a handful of quantum entanglers spread out over the continents, but all other communication is cut."

"Did you know a lot of people on Earth?" asked Shepard, looking sympathetic.

"Many," sighed Udina. "It's monstrous to think of them all being snuffed out, but the part that gets me is Arcturus. I must have known most of the Alliance Parliament on a first-name basis. I required a second VI just to track all their birthdays and anniversaries. Rose garden stuff, but to have it all gone…" He let out a small groan, the realisation of this shattering of his everyday routine hitting him hard.

"We'd better get going, Alan," Shepard then said. "The sooner we can find the people we're looking for, the sooner we can start getting the War Council together."

"Right," said Alan, nodding his head, glad to have something to focus on. "I'll let you know of the situation on Sanghelios, though I think we ought to get some rest before we do anything else." He let loose a deep sigh. "It's been a long day."

With that, the two of them headed out of Udina's office and started to head back to their respective ships. Shepard came across Vega first, who was in the Presidium looking out over the lake.

"Hey, Commander," he said, as she approached. "Liara told me the Council's not interested in helpin' us…"

"Something like that," breathed Shepard.

"Why would they?" groaned Vega. "Look at this place. There's no war here. People are whisperin' about it, talkin' about it, but they don't really believe it."

"I take it this is your first time here," said Shepard, "with the 'elite' of the galaxy."

"I've been to the Citadel," said Vega, turning to face her, "but never up here on the Presidium. It's… not right. It looks pretty; calm and peaceful, even, but it's not right. It's all just an illusion"

"Knowing who built this place," sighed Shepard, "that's probably the idea."

"Maybe," shrugged Vega. "But even then, when push comes to shove, everyone here would just turtle up anyway, hope it don't hit them too, right? They'd rather believe in this," he continued, nudging his thumb behind him, "than face the truth."

"I can hardly believe the truth, myself," said Shepard. "It's like everything back on Earth was some kind of nightmare."

"Yeah," said Vega, frowning around him as if King Ghidorah himself had just emerged from the lake. "That's what I hate most. Like ya say, it wouldn't surprise me now if this place actually wanted you to forget that."

"So you still want to go back to Earth?" asked Shepard.

"Hell yeah," said Vega, "but…"

"But?"

"You were right," sighed Vega. "So was Anderson. We can't stop them alone. Besides, looks like you're gonna have your hands full convincing these pendejo politicians to help us." He nodded, looking more resolute. "And I'm up for it. Whatever it takes." He and Shepard began to walk back to the docking bay. "Next time we're here though, I'm gonna stay on the lower levels where they keep it real."

Alan, meanwhile, came to the _Serenity_'s docking bay to find Nicole in discussions with a small woman of Chinese descent, with short black hair and wearing a formal purple dress.

"But when will Captain Tyler be back?" the woman was asking impatiently, her voice giving Alan the feeling he had heard it somewhere before. "I need to speak to him before you leave!"

"I honestly don't know," said Nicole, looking rather weary. "I'm not his secretary, I'm not even his First Mate. He hasn't had one of those for two months, and no, you're not allowed to ask any questions about Alistair."

"I wasn't going to…" the woman began, but Alan walked up to the two women. Both of them looked relieved to see him there.

"What's going on here?" he asked them.

"Captain Tyler?" the small woman immediately said, offering her hand to shake. "My name's Emily Wong. I'm with Citadel News Network."

"I thought your voice sounded familiar," said Alan, shaking her hand. "That exposé you did on overworked traffic co-ordinators in Citadel Control was a nice piece of journalism."

"Thank you," said Emily, beaming. 

"So what can I do for you, Ms. Wong?" asked Alan.

"Citadel News Network wants a war correspondent to head out into the field," said Emily, looking full of pride. "I volunteered for the position. I've been researching the Fleet Shadow of Fury for a while, and I decided only the _Normandy_ itself would have a better chance of getting into the thick of the action."

"So why aren't you on the _Normandy_?" asked Nicole.

"I tried asking there," said Emily, now looking a bit disgruntled, "but Alliance News Network managed to get a journalist on her before I could get there."

"So we weren't your first choice then?" asked Alan, who couldn't help smirking and making the journalist sweat a little.

"Oh, I don't mean to say the _Serenity_ or the fleet is any less worthy!" replied Emily, now looking flustered. "But everyone's turning to the _Normandy_ to pull them through the war, and it's just that…" She stammered and froze, apparently quaking under the gaze of these two seasoned soldiers. "Okay, before I go digging myself an even deeper hole, let me just say that I have nothing but respect for all of you in the Fleet Shadow of Fury. I won't interfere in any classified work and I can bring my own equipment. I want to be able to send a message of hope to the galaxy from the frontlines. Besides, if that top-heavy bimbo Diana Allers thinks she can out-scoop me, she's got another thing coming!"

Alan and Nicole looked at each other, the Spartan looking exasperated. It was true that having a journalist on board was a potential nuisance, not to mention a possible civilian casualty in the making that they could do without. On the other hand, telling the galaxy about their victories as soon as possible was a good idea, and would help to boost morale, and hopefully support, for the war effort. He only hoped that Wong had the sense to keep quiet if something catastrophic happened, as was usually the case.

"Admiral 'Heros will have the final say on the matter," said Alan. "For the time being, though, I'm willing to give you a trial run."

"Thanks!" said Emily, her face lighting up like a schoolgirl. "You won't regret this! How much can I bring?"

"One footlocker," said Nicole. "And you might want to bring something to wear other than that dress. You don't wanna ruin it with your field work."

Wong looked surprised that a Spartan would say such a thing, but nodded nonetheless and checked her Omni-Tool, arranging for her equipment to be delivered to the _Serenity_'s docking bay. By the time the ship was ready to leave, Alan was wondering just what he was letting himself in for, allowing all the eyes on the galaxy to turn onto the _Serenity_. If he survived the war, he was sure that his ship would never be trusted for anonymous smuggling runs ever again.


	5. Into the Trenches

**Into the Trenches**

_He was stood beside two unmarked graves, side-by-side on a cliff overlooking the seemingly endless ocean. The water was a leaden grey colour, reflecting the murky sky above. The ground around him was scorched and burned, and ash fell from the sky like flurries of snow._

_He knew these graves very well, and he knew this place, as he turned around and found himself facing a ruined churchyard, the nearby church smashed and now nothing more than a pile of rubble and glass. Beyond that he could see the still-smoking ruins of a small fishing town, a place he knew very well as the town of his birth. He found it hard to believe he was back here, where everything began for him, on a day that irreversibly changed the course of many lives._

_There was one thing about this sight that was unfamiliar, however, something that should not be there. A short distance away he saw a large stone statue, grey in colour and showing an extraordinarily life-like depiction of a griffin-like gargoyle, resembling an anthropomorphic eagle with hooked beak, large feathered wings and wearing a set of armour. It stood in a fearsome pose, its claw seeming to reach out in an attempt to grab anything that came near it. With a start, Alan recognised who the statue depicted. He tried to run up to it, but he seemed to only move in slow motion, as if his legs had been filled with lead weights._

_All of a sudden he heard a noise from overhead, one that seemed to fill the air all around him. It was a call he was very familiar with, the sound of a high-pitched bell. Before he even had time to think, a blast of golden lightning shot down from the sky, striking the statue before him. Instantly the statue seemed to explode, sending shrapnel everywhere and scattering dust and gravel to the four winds._

_Not again…_

_Those were the only words flashing through Alan's mind as he froze in shock and fear, unable to turn away from the sights he did not wish to see. He did not wish to be reminded of his friend's death, nor of the deaths of those he knew who had long gone, either by ill intent or the ravages of time. That was what this place was; it was a place of nothing but death. He knew that he had to leave, to get away from the sights…_

_Then the lightning struck again, with such force that Alan was almost blasted off his feet. The ground beneath him gave way, sending him plummeting over the edge. Next thing he knew he was in free-fall, bracing himself to go crashing into the rooftops below. However, he was shocked when a set of silvery tendrils burst through the cliff behind him, grabbing him and wrapping tightly around his body. For a moment he was suspended upside-down above the town below him, which seemed to be drawing further and further away from him. He was suddenly flipped right way up, his head forced to look upwards at a huge golden cat-like eye that filled his vision, the pupil narrowed as it regarded him, a deep booming voice echoing around him and causing his mind to become paralysed with fear:_

"_I am Heavy Metal… Kiryuu Mechagodzilla."_

0

Alan jerked awake with a start, his face caked in sweat. He gasped and panted, still reeling from the sights he had seen in that nightmare. He held his head in a claw, trying to calm himself down. He knew that he could not afford to go to pieces, not at a time like this…

He looked across his cabin to the chronometer, which indicated that it was just after 3am in standard Military Time. They were still some way out from Sanghelios; they were not using slip-space, for one thing, in an attempt to keep their heat emissions low so as to try and avoid detection by Reaper patrols, but it made for slow progress and Rachel was practically tearing her hair out trying to come up with a way to hide the ship's heat emissions without losing speed or roasting everyone alive inside the ship. Alan shook himself, trying not to think of the horrid but very likely scenario that they were too late and the Sangheili had already been wiped out.

After pulling on a shirt and some trousers, he climbed the ladder to the corridor outside the bridge and passed the cabins of his crew, envious of their undisturbed rest, to the dining area. The corner in which the comfortable chairs usually resided had been stripped clean to make room for the QEC, which stood shimmering, never turned off in case an emergency transmission came through, as there was now no other way of contacting those involved in the fight. Two projectors had been fitted, so that it was possible to hold conference calls with more than one other person. Rachel had commented that the maintenance teams had seemed confused by how the 'mess hall' looked so inefficient and against military regulations; if the point ever surfaced again, Alan would say that being able to take some part of home away with them may be the only thing keeping the crew sane. He went behind the counter and poured himself a coffee, only to end up gagging on it and nearly spitting it out. The taste was horribly artificial, reminding him of soykaf, the synthetic coffee he used to have to make do with back in the late 21st century, when he was staying in Seattle and working as a shadowrunner.

He sat at the table, peering absently into the tin mug of fake-tasting coffee. He couldn't get the images from his dream out of his head. They brought back all manner of painful memories; the death of his parents, the destruction of his hometown, the death of his gargoyle First Mate, Alistair, and especially his first encounter with Kiryuu. That was a day that he had not thought about in a long time. The dream had brought his memories of that fateful day flooding back, a day that had changed the course of many lives. He could now clearly see Kiryuu's narrowed, malevolent eyes, and that vicious grin that played across his snout as he snared Alan into his world, led him to the horrifying truth behind the experiments that had made him what he was today. It was not unreasonable to say that Kiryuu had changed a great deal over the course of time; that Kiryuu from five centuries ago was a very different person to the one that had hugged him on the _Shi'lithra_ only the previous day. He wondered what Kiryuu's reaction would be if he was ever to meet his younger self, a relic from a time before his hard-earned wisdom and – for lack of a better term - humanity.

He sighed and abandoned his coffee, heading back to his cabin and deciding to try to sleep again. However, he had only tried for an hour when his commlink beeped, notifying him that someone was trying to set up a conference call on the QEC. So it was only a few minutes later that he found himself staring at the holograms of both Kedzuel and Commander Shepard, feeling as if he was about to collapse at any minute. Small compensation came from the fact that it looked like Shepard had a rough night's sleep too, as she looked weary.

"Alan," said Kedzuel, looking frustrated. "Udina updated us on your meeting with the Council. Sounds like they're running scared."

"From the sounds of things," Shepard chimed in, "we did present them with a lot of unknowns. They're feeling threatened and want immediate solutions, not theories."

"In other words," sighed Kedzuel, holding his head in a claw, "they expect me to make the Reapers go away just by waving my hand. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. No race was meant to fight the Reapers by themselves, not even mine. Now my biggest worry is that we're too late to bring everyone together into the fight. Everyone will be too concerned with their own borders to think about the very real danger that the Reapers' takeover of Earth represents."

"Well," said Shepard, "I'm heading to Menae. We're going to try to find the Turian Primarch, get him to that summit meeting with the Asari and the Salarians. I'll bypass the Council and appeal directly to their leadership."

"And I'm heading to Sanghelios," Alan chimed in. "We need to get the lot of them involved in this. They've got the most powerful military outside of the Council, and it may help those guys to know that that army's going to be on their side."

"Good thinking," said Kedzuel, nodding. "Once we have them all talking in the same room, we can start laying the groundwork for our counterattack."

"I just wish we had more to back it up than vague promises we may not be able to keep," said Alan, looking grim.

"Then you two need to start building alliances," said Kedzuel, a determined gleam in his eye. "Gather everything and everybody you can for the cause."

"What about that Prothean device Liara mentioned?" asked Shepard. "The Crucible, you called it?"

"Once we've been able to gather more forces," said Kedzuel, "we'll start sending scouting parties out to find it. The news that Cerberus is also looking for it is very troubling. Even if we find no use for it ourselves we should still do what we can to keep it out of enemy hands. Kiryuu will also dispatch our surviving N7 forces into every theatre of war the Reapers open. Hopefully they can keep hitting them and buy us time to get the allied forces together, and for us to get the Shi-class ships finished. We're sending out an open invitation to those N7 forces; regardless of race or background, anyone who wants to join them is welcome."

"And when we've got all our forces together?" asked Alan.

"Assuming we reach that point," said Kedzuel, "then we pool all our resources. We need to build the biggest armada we can if our counterattack is to be successful. The galaxy's forces will be joined by our own fleets once our ships are completed and we can warp them here from Andromeda. The stronger you can make the galactic armada, the better our chances of punching through the Reapers' fortifications."

"What about Earth?" asked Shepard.

"We'll just have to hope that Admiral Anderson," said Kedzuel, looking grave, "and what's left of the UNSC forces, can hold out until we can bring our forces in."

"I understand," said Shepard, putting on a brave face in spite of her obvious fatigue.

"Good," said Kedzuel. "Then make it happen, you two. We'll be expecting regular updates on your progress. Good luck." With that, his image flickered and faded away, Commander Shepard's doing the same.

Alan breathed in deep, still not feeling ready to face the battlefield just yet, though he knew it could not be much longer before the _Serenity_ reached her destination. He headed up to the bridge, knowing that Call would still be on pilot duty, as being an android she didn't need as much sleep as the others. He collapsed into the co-pilot's chair and heaved a deep sigh. Call peered over at him, looking concerned.

"You look terrible, Captain," she said. "You look like you haven't slept at all." 

"You're not far off," Alan groaned. "How far are we are from Sanghelios?"

"Not long," said Call. "A couple of hours."

Alan nodded, and stood up. He reached for the intercom and pressed one of the switches. Instantly a loud siren filled the ship, which he allowed to run for a few seconds before he spoke into the intercom itself:

"Sorry for the wake-up call, guys, but we've only got a couple of hours left before we hit Sanghelios. Get yourselves ready and in-shape before we drop. Dorva and José are heading down to the surface with me. We go in, extract whoever we can from the Sangheili High Council, and get out." He paused for a moment, his eyes closed. "I know you guys are on-edge about this, and I am too, but there's a whole galaxy out there counting on us. Everything has been building up to this. We've been through a lot together, and once again I've got to ask you all to give it everything you've got. We've got work to do, so let's get to it."

He stopped there, feeling sure that this was not the sort of thing his crew wanted to hear upon waking up, but feeling that it had to be said. Already he could feel the fatigue of this battle beginning to kick in, as he headed back to the dining area. While the rest of the galaxy was now being dragged into this war, to him it had been running for far too long.

0

With the way his life had gone over the past two months, Telek 'Heros felt as if he had jumped out of a burning building and straight into a flood. The Supreme Commander of the Sangheili Fleet Shadow of Fury, allied to the United Nations Space Command for many years, thought that he had seen the worst that the galaxy could throw at him. He had faced the humans, the Covenant, the Flood, and much more besides. Two years ago, he had faced one of these Reapers and blasted it to smithereens, but even then, though he would never have admitted it out loud, it was a very close thing. That same Reaper had destroyed three of the ships in his fleet and killed some of his closest friends. Now, barely a month after putting an end to a civil war that threatened to tear his people apart, this latest battle that he was a part of definitely ranked in his top three of the most terrible battles he had fought.

The news of the Reapers' arrival had quickly reached the Sangheili people. When they learned that Earth was the first planet to be attacked, they had quickly tried to prepare themselves for an imminent Reaper invasion; as the strongest allies of the human race, there seemed little doubt that the Reapers would also focus attention on them, as well as anybody else who had the power to intervene. Even though they knew it was coming, Telek couldn't help but feel that the High Council had underestimated the strength of the nightmarish machines. While they were smaller than their most powerful ships, their technology originated from somewhere beyond space and time, and their tactics were not like anything that could be anticipated in these days of military engagement. They had found themselves largely outgunned. They had managed to stop perhaps two Reapers, while the Reapers had disabled or destroyed hundreds, maybe thousands, of their ships.

The surviving fleets had managed to make it into orbit above the rust-coloured planet of Sanghelios, and now, around the far side of the moon known as Suban, the Fleet Shadow of Fury was attempting to regroup having been separated from the main convoy. However, two Reapers had managed to follow them and had re-engaged them, and it was all that they could do to avoid being destroyed. On the bridge of the fleet's flagship, the enormous super carrier known as the _Shadow of Darkness_, Telek's knuckles turned white as he gripped his command chair, his mandibles twisted into a hard scowl.

"Talk to me, Joli!" he barked at his helmsman as another shot from a Reaper impacted against the ship's shields, sending sparks everywhere.

"We can't take much more of this, Shipmaster!" Joli bellowed from the direction of the helm. "I think we only have enough in the shields to take maybe one or two more shots!"

Telek beat his fist on the arm of his chair, glaring around at everyone on the bridge as if daring them to leave.

"Where the hell are the rest of the fleets?!" he said, hints of his Southern State drawl still creeping through.

"They're tied up trying to evacuate the civilian transports!" Joli called back. "They're not coming to help any time soon!"

Telek peered at the flashing holographic monitors around his chair, each giving a view of the trio of murderous machines, as even now they prepared for another attack. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that the Reapers' firepower was incredible; under sustained fire, even the _Shadow of Darkness_ would surely fall to their might. On top of that, they had the nasty habit of manipulating their own Mass Effect fields, allowing them to outmanoeuvre other ships and scramble targeting systems. He hated situations like this; he preferred the element of surprise and hitting the enemy before they even knew you were there.

"Come on…" he seethed. "Give me something, you sacks of shit…"

He had only one idea in his head, one that only had an extremely slim chance of success at best. One of the Reapers advanced towards the ship, widening its arms and making itself look like a grasping claw. The glow of its main cannon could be seen on the underside. It moved closer, as if it planned to land on the ship's hull itself and tear it apart. It was then that he noticed something different on the scanners; the Reaper was no longer manipulating its Mass Effect fields, diverting all of its energy into empowering its main gun.

He didn't even need to order his helmsman to open fire; he and his crew knew that, when it came to the Reapers, it did not pay to hesitate. Streams of photon torpedoes shot out of the _Shadow of Darkness_, pounding the Reaper from all sides. Rocked by the explosions, one arm was severed and sent flying out into the depths of space. The Reaper backed away, quickly manipulating its Mass Effect fields again, but clearly wounded by the torpedoes as it seemed to fall adrift, without focus. The other Reaper approached it, activated a tractor beam, and towed away its fallen comrade around the far side of the moon, doubtless back towards the rest of the Reapers as they assaulted the planet below.

"Don't like that, do ya, ya son of a bitch?!" Telek yelled as the Reapers retreated. "I'm gonna make all of yer star-spawn extinct!"

He heard the dark, seething chuckle trickle itself into his mind. Telek's mandibles curled in disgust, recognizing that voice.

_Oh, so confident, pirate. So confident. I will enjoy bursting your overly inflated bubble._

"Come and get me, you three-headed reptile freak!" said Telek, looking around at nothing but the ceiling. King Ghidorah chuckled again and then withdrew. Telek felt the pressure suddenly leaving his mind, a breath of fresh air.

_"Telek?"_

The Sangheili turned around, seeing the ghostly, silvery blue draconic form of Dunkelzahn flow over him. He felt the temperature fall around him as the icy mist of the Free Spirit neared him.

"No," said Telek placing a hand upon his face. "No, I'm fine."

The ghostly dragon's form shifted into that of a very short human with curly brown hair and a very bright blue, 1970s era suit and bellbottoms. He looked more like he belonged in a disco club than on the bridge of a Sangheili super carrier.

_"Just making sure,"_ said Dunkelzahn.

"Nah, I may be unappetizing to him now––just like Kiryuu is," he said. "I think now he just wants us to suffer than wanting to control us."

"I hope so," said Dunkelzahn. "The last thing we need right now is you possessed."

"All ships, report in," said Telek as he pressed a button upon the arm panel of his chair.

_"_Divine Journey _here,"_ said Cujo 'Mentatal.

_"_Silent Wrath_ here,"_ said Tom Jimenez, the only human face on the screens.

_"_Righteous Fury _here,"_ said Tulsa 'Durosh.

Telek sighed, wagging his head. Though it had been two years since the deaths of Mitsu 'Kimam and Wago 'Tawun, he still missed their presence whenever he called his small fleet up.

_"I'd say we've been in worse scrapes,"_ began Cujo. _"But, that really was one of the worst."_

"Just tell me everything is at least functional enough for us to escape with, at the most, our dignity intact," said Telek.

_"There is that,"_ said Cujo. _"Aside from a few bumps and scrapes, my ship has managed to come out. So far, very minor casualties."_

_"Same here,"_ said Tulsa. _"Though, that one last hit to the engines––they are sputtering."_

_"My shield emitters are only working at half power,"_ said Tom. _"And my weapons have been disabled. I think if I kick one of the torpedo chutes, I can get it to work."_

His face appeared to be cool, almost like stone. However Telek could see a slight twitch in his brow and a flash of cyan in his brown eyes. He was fighting against attempting to connect, his own hesitation fuelling it.

"Tom?" Telek said as he saw the glowing cyan in his pupils begin to spread out to his irises.

_"I'm just––"_

"Tom..."

_"It's Earth,"_ he said. _"I'm just––worried."_ His eyes flashed, glowing cyan, the pair of triangular, dark markings appearing upon his face. _"I'm going to see if the Array can tell me anything. I don't like when there's no contact."_

Tom closed his eyes and exhaled, listening as carefully as he could. Then, the screen flashed and Telek could hear another explosion.

"Tom!" he called. "We'll figure that out later!"

Tom's eyes opened and he grunted, his eyes glowing brighter. He took in a deep breath and backed away from the screen, punching the air. Telek's eyes crossed, not knowing just what it was that the Technomancer was doing, that is until the flashes of strange blue-white energy exploding out from the _Silent Wrath_. Telek's eyes grew even wider as the energy impacted upon two small Reaper ships, causing them to explode.

"Enough is enough!" Tom called and as he screamed, for a faint moment, two other triangular markings appeared upon his face. A drop of blood dripped out from his right nostril.

"Tom!" said Telek. "Tom––stop."

Tom gasped, holding his nose with a hand, his eyes still glowing brightly.

"It's okay, Tom," said Telek. "It's okay."

_"What the hell did he just do?"_ Cujo asked.

"Kamehamehaed two Reaper ships," said Telek. "Okay, I think it's safe to say, we can't finish this fight."

Tom wagged his head, turning it away as he wiped the blood from his nose. The glow in his eyes faded as he Disconnected.

_"We can't leave the homeworld,"_ said Tulsa.

_"Sure, that's the smart thing to do, keep fighting until it kills us,"_ Cujo said. _"But if we die now, how are we going to heroically save it later?"_

Telek looked hopelessly at the monitor which displayed his home below. Enormous fires were visible even from orbit as the Reapers' carnage spread across the surface. It pained him to see his planet like this, but they had tried to engage the Reapers for over sixteen hours with no sign of pushing them back. They had lost this battle, and all that mattered now was escaping before they lost everything.

"Alright," he sighed, his eyes closed. "We'd better get outta here. If we don't get our ships out now we won't have any left for later."

"_Telek,"_ said Cujo suddenly, looking at something off-screen. _"I've just picked up another ship – a small one – headed right for Sanghelios. The signal's faint, but it's definitely there."_

"What?" asked Telek, looking dumbfounded. "Who the hell would be crazy enough to go towards Sanghelios at a time like this?!"

"_You're not gonna believe this…"_ Cujo breathed, shaking his head. "_It's_ Serenity!"

Telek's eyes almost popped out of his head, his mandibles open in a wide gawk. Alan couldn't possibly be doing what the Sangheili thought he was doing; he wouldn't be that reckless… would he? Trembling, he opened communications with the _Serenity_, asserting his authority as Supreme Commander of the fleet and overriding the usual hailing protocols.

"Get the hell outta there, kid!" he bellowed. "You have any idea what the fuck's going on here?!"

"_Nice to see you too, Telek!"_ retorted Alan as his haggard-looking face appeared on the display. _"I haven't got time to explain, but did any of your military leaders make it off?"_

"_According to my reports,"_ muttered Cujo, looking over his displays, _"the High Council are still in Gamam Keep. Something's delayed their evacuation; normally they'd be the first ones away from the planet. One of their number's our main military leader, Rtas 'Vadum. If anyone needs to be extracted from the planet, it's him."_ Cujo then almost looked frightened, as if he had just realised what he had said.

"_Call, do you still have those charts of Sanghelios from last time we were there?"_ Alan asked someone off-screen.

"_Yes, sir,"_ came Call's off-screen reply.

"_Then get us down to Gamam Keep now!"_ Alan commanded.

"Alan, that's way too dangerous!" yelled Telek. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"_Get the rest of the ships out of here!"_ barked Alan, ignoring Telek's protest. _"Save as many as you can!"_

"Alan!" Telek yelled, but the mutant had already cut him off. "God-damnit!" He beat his fist on the arm of his chair. "Why couldn't the stupid bastard leave this to us?!"

"_We're kinda tied up ourselves!"_ said Cujo, shaking his head. _"It's too late to argue with him now. Let's just get the ships as far away from here as possible and hope Alan knows what he's doing."_

"That's what I'm afraid of," grumbled Telek, shaking his head. He let out a deep breath and hung his head. "That ship of his only has a couple of pea shooters… I can't lose any more people, not after everything that's happened…"

_"Just when I thought we had enough,"_ said Cujo.

"Remember that promise I always make?" Telek asked. "Until that asshole space dragon makes me break it, I will always attempt to keep it. Don't think I wouldn't do the same for you too."

_"I know,"_ said Cujo. _"Besides, I have gotten attached to the kid."_

_"Let's do it, sir,"_ said Tom.

"You think you can do another one of those kamehameha things?" Telek asked.

_"Get me mad enough and I will,"_ said Tom. _"I can feel the push––going to the next stripe. For a moment, I think I almost skipped the second and went right to the third. I think I can do it again. I just need more Kleenex."_

"Don't fry your brain too much," said Telek.

_"I'll try not to,"_ said Tom.

"Okay, let's go save the kid," said Telek, clapping his hands together.

0

Gamam Keep was located in the rugged, mountainous Yermo province of the planet Sanghelios, currently bathed in the fiery orange glow of sunset. The harsh conditions were said to raise the strongest of Sangheili warriors, with even the nearby coast offering little respite for those who dwelled in the fortress itself. It was built high up on the multi-peaked Kolaar Mountain, the base of the fortress forming the base of the mountain itself. In times of war the thick mountain walls and underground river gave shelter, and thirty miles away was Gamam Harbour, visible from the mountain's peak. Now, war had descended upon the blighted landscape, with one of the monstrous Reapers laying waste to the harbour, cutting off a vital supply line for any ground resistance.

In spite of the relative isolation of this area, a sea of swarming, writing Husk bodies could be seen far below the _Serenity_ as it sped towards the fortress, scrambling all over the mountain and its hewn terraces, desperate to claw their way inside. To Alan, that was a sign that they knew there were people inside, trying to escape from their clutches. With any luck, the person he was looking for was still alive; it looked like the Keep's defences were already being overrun.

The hatch at the bottom of the ship was open, sending high-speed winds gusting into the cargo bay. He was now wearing his combat armour, which actually made him resemble Kiryuu in appearance, as it was a gleaming silver colour with a black bio-syntech layer visible underneath, the helmet shaped like a reptile's head with amber eye-screens. Beside him were Dorva and José, also in their own combat armour, weapons at the ready. Both of them looked as tense and alert as Alan felt. The landscape sped below them as the ship rose towards a terrace roughly halfway up the mountain.

"_That's as high up as I can take us before we show up on tracking devices,"_ Call said over the intercom. She had chosen the best angle that she could in order to avoid detection by the Reapers, but she wasn't sure how it was possible to hide from creatures that seemed able to detect the presence of their enemies on a supernatural level. It was the best they could hope for, of course, and Alan's eyes narrowed behind his eye-screens as he readied his Technomantic revolver.

"Circle the area once we're down," said Alan. "Any Reapers come your way, bug out, and we'll find another way. Hopefully we won't be down there too long, though."

"_Understood, Captain,"_ said Call, with a heavy sigh. _"Just do me a favour and get out of there alive."_ She paused for a moment heaving another sigh, clearly not sure that this was such a good idea. _"Approaching the drop in five… four… three…"_

The cragged surface of the mountain was now below them, and already they could see the Reaper forces down below, climbing up the cliffs at an incredible pace, even scrambling on top of each other, desperate to claw their way inside. Within seconds the ship was hovering above a rectangular rocky balcony, cut into the rock itself. As soon as the ship was in position Alan, José and Dorva all dropped through the hatch and landed squarely on the platform, aiming their weapons around them. As soon as they were clear the small cargo vessel took off, sending dust and pebbles flying everywhere. Immediately Alan noticed that they were not alone on this platform, for a short distance away, behind a vivid blue energy barrier, he saw four Sangheili figures, all of them dressed in ornate golden combat harnesses. As well as having plasma pistols strapped to their hips, all four of them were wielding the crackling blue blades of plasma swords. Alan assumed that they were all Aristocrats, as according to Sangheili tradition only they could wield plasma swords. As the dust settled, the sounds of the wailing Reaper forces were now much more audible from behind the _Serenity_ crew, growing louder and louder. Alan and his companions approached the barrier, the Sangheili beyond casting a suspicious eye over them.

"Hold your horses," said Alan, holstering his weapon. "We're not Husks."

"We know of Reaper indoctrination!" one of the Sangheili barked, his sword raised. "How do we know you're not an agent of the Reapers?!"

"Nitor," muttered one of the other Sangheili, "didn't you see their ship? That's Alan Tyler, one of Telek 'Heros's Shipmasters! Maybe we should hear him out?"

"We can't take any chances!" snarled the Sangheili known as Nitor. "We can't risk the last of the High Council being placed in danger!"

"'Last of the High Council'?" Alan repeated, feeling as if his blood was freezing. "You mean there's only one left?!"

"This fortress is supposed to be impenetrable!" said Dorva in disbelief. "How is it possible that the Council have been wiped out?!"

Nitor threw a dirty look at his companion, who stepped closer to the barrier. He looked younger than Nitor, but fatigued beyond measure.

"You'll have to forgive Nitor," he said. "We've all been anxious and none of us have slept for the past day. My name is Eket 'Vordus." He gave a small, nervous bow, and in that moment of silence the sound of the howling horde was now dangerously close. "I just want to say that it a supreme honour-"

"Tell us what you know in a minute," Alan said hurriedly, waving his hand. "Just let us inside before those god-damned zombies get up here!"

"No!" Nitor barked. "We cannot risk any indoctrinated agents getting inside! If you are who you say you are, you'll understand that!"

"God-damnit…" Alan snarled. "I get where you're coming from, but we don't have time to argue! Now let us in before-"

With a horrible scratching, scrabbling noise, the first of the Husks made it to the balcony, crawling over the stone wall. They were mostly human, of course, with a few of the Cannibals Alan had seen back on Earth mixed in with them. The biggest shock, however, came when the group saw a third type of husk; it was much taller than the other monsters, with a gangly build, the skin a murky brown-grey colour, as dead and dried as its brethren. Parts of the body, mostly the arms, thighs and parts of the back, were covered in what looked like an insect-like carapace like armour plating. Tubes and blue lights could be seen, one light in-particular shining from the middle of its exposed ribcage. The skull-like face, with a pair of eyes which glowed with a vivid blue light, was split into four mandibles, open as it emitted a wheezy death-rattle of a roar. The most frightening feature about these creatures were the claws; the fingers had been elongated until each nail was as long as a machete. With a gut-wrenching feeling, Alan was sure he knew what was now happening to the conquered Sangheili elsewhere on the planet. The Reapers had not wasted any time gathering reinforcements.

"Fuck!" Alan snarled, as he unfurled his Technomantic whip, swinging the white-hot plasma line and decapitating two Husks that charged at him. Instantly Dorva and José opened fire, cutting down more Husks as they approached. The Sangheili-husks were extremely agile, and liked to pounce right at their prey to try to slash it to pieces with their claws. One of them actually managed to send Alan sprawling to the floor, roaring in his face and preparing to gouge his eyes out, but Alan managed to cut through it with the whip and kick it away from him. For some reason the deaths of each Sangheili-husk seemed to agitate the other husks, almost as if they were enraged by their leaders falling. Though the _Serenity_ crew fought bravely, it was clear that they would soon be hopelessly outnumbered as more and more Husks scrambled onto the balcony, some of them even starting to climb higher up the mountain. To Alan's mind, it gave the impression of a dead, grey tsunami sweeping over the mountain and wiping it of all life.

It was then that Alan felt something tightly grip his arm, then throw him backwards. Instead of crashing into the barrier, however, he found himself rolling inside the tunnel. Trembling, he looked up just in time to see Dorva diving in after him, José backing up inside continuing to fire at the onslaught of Husks, which even now were trying to spill into the tunnel. The barrier was suddenly re-activated, and Alan now saw that Eket was standing by the control panel. Some of the Husks were sliced neatly in half, caught by the forcefield. The bulk of them pounded and swiped their claws against the barrier, while the Sangheili warriors quickly destroyed the stragglers that had managed to get inside. Alan picked himself up, breathing hard. Under his fingers he felt that he had been scratched badly by that Sangheili husk, but his wound was quickly healing. Eket approached him, looking concerned.

"Are you alright, Shipmaster?" he asked.

"I'll be alright," Alan said, nodding in gratitude. "Thanks for letting us in."

"Don't get too comfortable," said Nitor, who still looked at the trio with suspicion. "You're taking an enormous chance, Eket; if anything happens, it's on your head."

"I understand," said Eket, bowing. "I take full responsibility if it turns out I'm wrong." It was then that Nitor rounded on Dorva, who was clutching a stitch in his side.

"As for you," he snarled, "you're only fortunate that Supreme Commander 'Heros has forbidden us from executing you on the spot. If you were not with Shipmaster Tyler, I would leave you to die at the hands of the Reapers!"

"If you're finished threatening my crew," Alan barked, standing straighter, "then we need to get going. We're looking for Rtas 'Vadum. Cujo said he's the guy we need to find to represent the Sangheili at a War Summit."

"Then follow us," said Eket. "Councillor 'Vadum will be in the topmost chamber, at the peak of the mountain. It will be the only safe place now."

Not wasting any time, he immediately started walking down the corridor leading deeper into the mountain, the others following him. The _Serenity_ crew were flanked on all sides by the Sangheili warriors, all of them keeping a sharp eye on them in case they tried anything and making Alan feel very uncomfortable. In stark contrast to other Sangheili structures Alan had seen, Gamam Keep had a very naturalistic look, the rocky tunnels dimly lit. It made him wonder if the structure predated the Sangheili admiration and deification of the Forerunners, and was retained the way it was due to historical significance. Dorva, oddly enough, had a peculiar expression of wonder and forlornness on his face.

"Long have I wanted to set foot inside Gamam Keep," he said. "I was never authorised to do so even before my exile. In its deepest chamber lies a chronicle of the entire Gamam saga, chiselled into its walls. I have longed to study those carvings myself."

"Hey, idiota!" José barked. "Try to remember why we're here! You know; important Elite guy, gotta get him to a War Summit so he can tell those Council pendejos how to kick Reaper ass?!"

"Crudely-put," muttered Alan, turning to Eket, "but he's got a point. What was it you said earlier about there being only one Councillor left? How did the Reapers even get inside?"

"The underground river," sighed Eket, hanging his head. "Those monsters have no use for oxygen, and so were able to get inside the fortress by going in underneath it via the river. They were inside the most secure chambers in the fortress before we even knew what had happened. Many of our forces were overrun, and most of the Council was killed while waiting to be evacuated. Now only Councillor 'Vadum is left, and I'm not even sure of that anymore."

"Lucky he's the only one still alive then," said Alan, "as he's the one we're looking for. We need somebody at that summit who can co-ordinate the Sangheili forces for when we counterattack the Reapers."

"You must be insane to think we can fight those demons," said Nitor, looking pessimistic. "They have torn apart many of our super carriers. We were lucky to even get as many ships away as we did. Staying alive is now as good as it gets. Not with every ship in the galaxy could you pull off such an attack. It is folly!"

"You don't keep up with the news, do ya?" said José with a wry tone. "We've got the Precursors on our side now. I'd say our chances just got better."

"Shh!" Alan suddenly said, holding up a hand to silence the others. Pausing in their tracks, the group heard the howling of the Husks coming from somewhere within the mountain. It was difficult to tell where, as the sound seemed to bounce off the walls all around them, but it could not have been too far away.

"They're getting close," said Etek. "We have to find Councillor 'Vadum now. What we need should be around here somewhere…"

Rounding a corner, the group saw that what Etek was looking for was a gravity lift, glowing with a soft violet light and built into a hollow tunnel that stretched vertically before them, apparently from the bottom of the mountain to its very top. Etek was at the control panel, and had altered its parameters so that anyone jumping into it would be carried upwards.

"We should be able to ride right up to the topmost chamber," he said. "Jump in!" He then proceeded to jump straight into the shaft, and immediately began to float upwards towards the mountain's summit. The rest of the group did the same, and within two minutes they were jumping out onto the top level. As soon as the last person's feet hit solid ground, Etek had manipulated the control panel again, making sure that no Husks could ride the lift up. Now their only option would be to climb up, though from what they had seen outside it was clear that this would not stop them.

Even though it was not designed as a formal meeting room like the ones deeper inside, the topmost chamber was still an impressive sight, seemingly designed to impress dignitaries who were entering via the top entrance. The chamber was well-lit and had a high ceiling, supported by great wooden columns with impressive carvings on them and on the walls. One end was opened up to lead out to a landing pad outside, near the mountain's peak. Immediately Alan saw two Sangheili figures approaching them from the centre of the chamber, both of them dressed in combat armour. One was dressed in the most elaborate Sangheili armour it was possible to imagine, with strange archaic runes and patterns adorning the layers of steely silver. The dark bodysuit was striped with greyish blue lines that resembled tribal tattoos. The other Sangheili was wearing armour which was a pearly white in colour, with a large spade-shaped crest on the front of the helm. A long white cloak draped his shoulders and he had piercing green eyes. The most distinctive feature of him, however, was that he was missing a pair of mandibles on his right-hand side. Alan recognised the Sangheili in the archaic silver armour to be Otto 'Gamam, the Arbiter of the Sangheili people and Telek's mentor, and he only hoped that the other Sangheili was indeed Rtas 'Vadum.

"Shipmaster Tyler?" asked Otto when his eyes fell upon the mutant. "By the gods… What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for Councillor 'Vadum," replied Alan. "Emperor Kedzuel needs him on the _Shi'lithra_ to attend a war summit." At this, the Sangheili with the missing mandibles turned to face Alan, a look of grim determination on his face.

"I am Rtas 'Vadum," he said. Alan allowed himself a sigh of relief; he'd done it. They'd found the Councillor in time, and now if they were quick they could get away before the Reapers realised what had happened. He began to feel tense again, however, as Rtas' expression turned apologetic.

"Since you have gone to so much trouble to find me," the Sangheili said, the stumps where the missing mandibles should have been quaking eerily, "this summit is clearly an urgent matter." He shook his head. "Unfortunately you'll have to pass on my sincere apologies to Emperor Kedzuel; I can't attend the summit."

"But Councillor," Alan pressed, now starting to feel slightly sick. "This war council is to help gather forces in order to fight the Reapers."

"But to leave Sanghelios," said Rtas. "I do not want to leave my people behind. I realise you want all of us to participate in this battle. It will indeed take a great host to fight the deadly parasite, but I will not abandon my world of its much-needed leaders."

"We have to have someone of the Sangheili to come," said Alan more forcefully. "Without you, Kedzuel will be unable to coordinate the Sangheili forces!" He looked pleadingly to Nitor and Etek who spoke softly to themselves in their native language. Though he did not understand what they were saying, he understood their vocal inflections. They were worried.

Otto 'Gamam took in a deep breath and then removed the decorative, archaic helmet from his head.

"I will go," he said with the utmost confidence. "I will go to this council and help lend assistance to Emperor Kedzuel to fight the Reapers. After all, he made good on his promise. He helped my people when he did not have to do so."

"Arbiter, are you sure about this?" Rtas asked.

Otto wagged his head: "No. But I know that I am needed. Remain on Sanghelios and continue to fight the good fight here, old friend. My calling is with this council." Then he smiled as best as a Sangheili could. "Besides, I know Telek will never let me hear the end of it if I didn't. He was my student and what better than to have two of the best strategists Sanghelios has to be at the disposal of Kedzuel? A leader of that calibre deserves the best."

"Very well," said Rtas. "I will remain here and coordinate the defence of our homeworld," said Rtas. "Good luck, Arbiter."

Otto nodded.

"And we will stay with you, Councillor," said Nitor. "You must be guarded."

"Thank you," said Rtas. "Shipmaster Tyler, I can only hope for the best in this fight. We will need the luck of the ancients to win."

Above, they heard the horrible sounds of the Reapers as they encroached in. Alan tightened his grip on his revolver's handle. This wasn't quite how he'd expected things to go, but he'd grown used to things not going to plan. Besides, he knew the Arbiter was more than qualified for the job before him.

"Okay, Arbiter," he barked. "Come on!"

Otto followed him upon the landing pad, stepping back outside into the dusty mountain air. For one more moment, he looked back to see Etek closing the barrier leading back inside. Rtas stood close to it, and Alan was sure that he was saying a silent prayer.

"Rtas!" the Arbiter called.

"I'll be fine!" said Rtas. "I know of a way out of the keep. Don't worry about me!"

As the Councillor ran back into the depths of the keep, Otto re-ignited his energy sword, the crackling blue energy seeming to radiate from all over his body as he followed Alan, Dorva and José onto the landing pad. At that very moment, there was a sudden flash of light from outside that nearly blinded the group, forcing them to stagger back. For one horrifying moment Alan thought he had actually been blinded, as if he had looked right into the light of a detonating nuclear bomb. As the light faded, however, he also heard a deafening roar, and a powerful wind whipped through the area, almost knocking them off their feet as the sound reached almost unbearable levels.

A sound like the blast from a monstrous foghorn erupted from somewhere to their left, and they all turned to see what was going on. The sight that greeted them was one of utter bedlam; a gigantic explosion was filling much of the scenery before them, erupting far out to sea, as a Reaper, now burned by the blast and with a sizeable hole in it, was thrown into the water, sending waves everywhere. Above the scene was a streak of fire leading up into the atmosphere. Alan's spirits sank as he realised that, even if he was right – and he hoped to every god that may have been listening that he was – then _Serenity_ was now well beyond their reach. They would never be able to reach them before the swarm of Husks struck them, and as the noise of the explosion died away the howling and scrabbling sounds of the undead horde grew even louder.

Matters grew even worse when the Reapers' foghorn-like call blasted through the air, and a shadow fell across the mountain. Looking up, Alan felt his heart rate climb to unbearable levels as two Reapers descended from above, blocking out the sun. They were both heading straight towards the landing pad, raising their arms, making themselves resemble giant claws. One shot of their weapons and it was all over and even if they didn't get the group then the Husks certainly would. Alan felt his grip on his weapons tighten, his breathing becoming sharper as he could not believe things had gotten so bad; for the first time, he couldn't see a way out.

_It can't end like this…_ he thought. _It just can't…_

All of a sudden, without warning, flashes of blue-white energy suddenly erupted from a point above the Reapers, blasting out of some unseen emitter. The energy struck the two monstrosities, blasting them down and forcing them to crash into the ground, half of their mechanical bodies atomised. As the cacophony resounding from the attack died away, the astounded group looked up in time to see the enormous super carrier the _Silent Wrath_ emerge from its stealth mode. It hung like a large guardian angel in the sky.

"What the hell just happened?!" exclaimed José, for even he knew that no Sangheili ship possessed weaponry the likes of which they had just seen.

"I don't know," said Dorva, "but their timing could not be more fortunate!"

"We are not out of danger yet!" bellowed the Arbiter, readying his energy sword. "Look!" He was pointing to the edge of the landing pad, where the first Husks were already clawing their way onto the platform. Looking around him, he saw that they were surrounded and that the Arbiter was right; they could not afford to relax yet. They had to hold out until a rescue shuttle arrived.

Bracing himself, Alan unfurled the whip again as the others readied their weapons. Within moments the army of Husks was upon them, attacking in a single, unified wave, clearly hoping to destroy their enemy through sheer numbers. Each was destroyed easily by gunfire, or a swipe from the sword or whip, but it was clear that the group would tire out fast from fighting so many. The Arbiter fought like a being possessed, using the powerful Sangheili technique known as Para'rothu to quickly dash between the Husks and slice them to ribbons with his sword. As Alan looked up, he saw a small craft approaching them; a Sangheili Phantom drop-ship, though unlike other Phantom-class ships this one was painted green instead of purple. He assumed that it had been dispatched from the _Silent Wrath_ to extract the stricken survivors.

At last, as Alan's muscles felt fit to burst, the dropship arrived, hovering just within reach of the group. It had to raise itself a few times to stop the Husks from grabbing onto it, plasma cannons blazing and cutting down as much of the endless tide as it could. A hatch in the side opened up, and the white-armoured Sangheili figure of Aeko 'Ilsus leaned out, wielding a carbine rifle and shooting down any Husks that got too close.

"Arbiter!" he called. "Shipmaster Tyler! Get on board, quickly!"

"You first!" yelled Alan to the Arbiter, trying to make himself heard above the horrific wailing noises made by the legions of Reaper forces. Without hesitation, the Arbiter sprinted to the waiting ship, cutting down any of the howling Husks that got too close, and was able to quickly leap into the ship. The others followed as best they could, and soon Alan and José were safely on board.

Dorva managed to grab onto the ship, but it lifted away from the ground as soon as he did so, and he was struggling to pull himself on board. With a sinking feeling, Alan saw that José was closest to the hatch, but the ODST was just stood there for a moment, watching Dorva struggle to climb back inside, and it was clear that he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. For a minute, Alan had a horrible feeling that José would let him fall; he certainly would feel justified in doing so, and that was what worried Alan the most.

Thankfully, his fears proved to be unfounded, for José lunged forward and grabbed the struggling Sangheili's arms; through a great deal of effort, he was able to pull Dorva safely on board. Both collapsed into seats opposite each other, exchanging awkward glances; José in-particular looked very guilty, almost ashamed of himself. Neither of them said a word about what had happened, while Alan just shook his head; the sooner the two of them got this matter between them off their chests, the better off everyone would be.

Looking to his side, he saw that the Arbiter had his eyes closed, and was apparently in a meditative state. He saw several scratches and bruises on him, but the Sangheili seemed unfazed by them. Deciding it best not to disturb him, Alan, numb with the shock and worried about the _Serenity_, leaned back and let out a deep sigh, as the ship sped back towards one of the _Silent Wrath_'s many hangar bays. To Alan, not even an assault carrier felt like a safe place in this day and age.


	6. The Fires of Palaven

**The Fires of Palaven**

Even after the _Silent Wrath_ was safely above the atmosphere again, and the fleet was moving away from Sanghelios, Alan didn't feel as if he could rest easy. He was trying to stop his mind from breaking down in complete panic, as he was struggling to communicate with the _Serenity_. Every time he tried to do so, he received nothing but static. He hoped and prayed that it was due to some mechanical fault on either end, for the alternative was too horrible to think about. Even as the dropship landed in one of the super carrier's cavernous hangars, he didn't say a word, too anxious and now dreading how he was going to explain what had happened to Kedzuel and Telek. There was no way of knowing if Rtas had even made it out of Gamam Keep alive.

He stepped out of the Phantom onto the lavender-hued floor of the hangar, which was large enough to comfortably fit two UNSC frigates inside it, the other passengers following him. Aeko separated from the group to rejoin his Special Operations unit, while José collapsed to the floor, grateful to be on a Sangheili vessel for the first time in his life. Dorva stepped away from the group, looking out beyond the forcefield that separated the hangar from open space, watching as another super carrier – the _Shadow of Darkness_ – pulled alongside them. Here and there in the hangar ran a mixture of human and Sangheili crew, all going about their tasks in clearing space in the hangar and keeping the ship operational. Alan and Otto, meanwhile, were approached by another Sangheili, this one large and wearing white armour but his soft expression being an odd contrast to Aeko's own steely professional gaze. Before anyone had time to gather their senses, he'd stooped down and scooped Alan into a hug that looked like it would break his back.

"Alan!" he exclaimed, in a very emotional tone. "We all thought… I mean, you went down to… but they were already… Oh gods, don't scare us like that!"

"Easy, Xovu…" grunted Alan, as he was released from the embrace. "If you guys hadn't showed up, we wouldn't have made it. Thanks for the help."

Xovu 'Nohat, the First Mate of the _Silent Wrath_, looked as if he had been on the verge of crying. Upon spotting Otto, his eyes widened, and he gave a salute, trying to regain his composure and look more professional.

"Arbiter!" he said, eyes wide in surprise. "This is an honour! Though we were expecting Councillor 'Vadum…"

"At ease," said Otto, shaking his head. "Councillor 'Vadum sent me here in his stead. I will explain to Telek when I speak to him." He looked behind Xovu, as if expecting somebody else. "Where is Shipmaster Jimenez? I want to speak to him about his methods just now. The blast that attacked those Reapers did not come from any Sangheili weapon…"

Now that Otto had mentioned it, the weaponry that the _Silent Wrath_ had used did seem very unusual to Alan. No amount of firepower could have punched through a Reaper's shields so easily, let alone damaged them. With a sickening jolt, a theory formed in Alan's head, and now he feared the worst for the Technomantic Shipmaster. Xovu, meanwhile, didn't answer Otto's question immediately, but the troubled expression on his face said more than words ever could.

"What happened to him, Xovu?" asked Alan, looking very worried. "The only thing that could have toppled those Reapers was Technomancy. If he's gone and fried his brain bailing us out I'll-"

"It's okay, Alan!" Xovu interrupted, looking alarmed at what Alan was saying. "It took a lot out of him, but he's going to be alright. We had to move him to the medical bay and give him another shot for the pain, but he's going to be alright." His comments did nothing to ease Alan's mind, and the mutant still looked agitated. "Before he attacked the Reapers, he told me that he remembers how you saved him on Pandora. He said that the time to repay you for that was long overdue."

Alan still looked worried, though it was not so much about Tom anymore. He pulled his commlink up and was about to speak into it, when Xovu suddenly stepped forward and covered the screen of his commlink. Alan looked up at him, about to lash out at Xovu for interrupting him, but his anger seemed to die away when he saw Xovu's kind face, full of as much sympathy as a Sangheili face would allow.

"If you're worried about the _Serenity_ – and believe me, I was worried too – then you don't have to be," the First Mate said gently. "We got a call from the Supreme Commander just before you docked; she made it to the _Shadow of Darkness_. Telek's even on his way here now in her. Everybody made it out alright. You've got a damn good crew there; we're in a real mess right now, but you're right to put your faith in them."

Alan had to fight the urge to cheer out loud. Instead, he settled for sinking to the floor, feeling his legs give way as he released a deep sigh. He was exhausted from the ordeal on Sanghelios, but this was the first time he was letting it show. Professionalism didn't matter to him; all that was of value to him was on the _Serenity_, and it was an immense relief to know that the ship, and more importantly her crew, were alright. Although he received looks from both Xovu and the Arbiter, neither of them seemed to know what to do or say, and both reached a silent agreement that it was best to leave him be.

It was then that alarms sounded all over the hangar, signalling that another ship was approaching. Alan got to his feet and turned to see the very welcome sight of the Serenity gliding through the forcefield, coming to rest neatly on the floor. There were some burns on the side of the hull from laser fire, but the damage seemed to be purely cosmetic. The cargo ramp lowered, and Telek was the first to step out, striding across the hangar towards them. Looking behind him, Alan saw that José and Dorva were making no effort to move; apparently they needed a few more minutes to themselves. Behind Telek, the remainder of the _Serenity_ crew were having to walk quickly to keep up with Telek's long strides; Gillian broke away from the group to lay on the floor of the hangar, much like she did on the _Shi'lithra_, like she was hearing something the others couldn't. Upon seeing Otto, Telek strode up to him, a look of both surprise and enormous relief on his face.

"In the words of many humans on Earth," began Telek. "You got an angel lookin' after ya, Otto."

"It is good to see you too, Telek," said the Arbiter.

"I was expectin' Rtas, though…"

"He's coordinating our resistance back home," explained Otto. "I would not be too worried about him; I cannot think of anyone more qualified to keep our people in the fight and our home standing strong." He put a sympathetic hand on Telek's shoulder. "Speaking of standing strong, Shipmaster Jimenez is going to be alright. He saved our lives down there, when we were facing insurmountable odds. I know he will be back at the helm of the _Silent Wrath_ before you know it."

Telek let out a deep sigh. He was constantly worried about Tom; he had been using his Technomancy so much of late, and he kept thinking that one of these days Tom was going to end up destroying himself. It had been bad enough when he lost Mitsu and Wago; he didn't know if he could handle it if he lost Tom as well. He then turned to Alan, seeing that the mutant looked as exhausted as he felt.

"How're you holdin' up, kid?" he asked. "From what Otto said, it sounds like you guys got dragged through Hell backwards." Alan nodded, putting on a brave face which failed to mask his exhaustion.

"Don't worry about me, Telek," he said. "I'm just glad _Serenity_ made it through this in one piece." Telek turned to look at the Firefly-class ship, before shaking his head and turning back to Alan.

"The flyin' Waltons' house has been a damn good ship," he said. "Once we're back on the _Shadow_, though, I'm grounding her until we've given her some upgrades. She needs a proper stealth drive fitted; it's too damn dangerous to go flyin' solo around the galaxy now without one." Alan was about to open his mouth in protest, but Telek held up a hand to silence him. "That three-headed son-of-a-bitch is gonna be on the lookout for you now. I reckon he was jus' toyin' with ya down there; next time ya ain't gonna be so lucky if he spots you."

Alan was about to protest, as he reasoned that if he was grounded he would be unable to do anything and they would lose valuable time in the gathering of allies and the hunt for the Crucible. However, he found himself unable to argue with Telek's logic. They had been extraordinarily lucky just then; there was every chance their luck would run out at the worst moment. He just nodded, knowing that it was pointless to argue with Telek at this point.

"There's still one thing I don't understand," said Otto. "What was that explosion we saw on the surface? It was powerful enough to topple a Reaper." Alan had the funny feeling he knew what it was, as he had heard it talked about before. He looked over at Rachel, who looked rather guilty as she stepped forward.

"I can explain that," she squeaked, as everyone's eyes fell on her. "We got chased by a Reaper, and had to pull off a Crazy Ivan to get away." She noticed that Telek and Otto looked confused, but Xovu looked like he actually understood what she meant.

"What's a Crazy Ivan when it's at home?" asked Telek.

"It can only be pulled off by a ship with two rotating atmospheric-manoeuvring engines mounted on-axis from one another," said Rachel, miming everything with her hands. "By flipping one of the engines around, making it run in reverse while the other one still gives forward motion, it's possible to spin the ship around mid-flight. We were able to turn around to face the Reaper, zip right past it, and get away while it was trying to turn around."

"They also needed to set off the ship's fusion drive to get away, causing an explosion of raw plasma," Xovu chimed in unexpectedly. "They would have been launched away from Sanghelios at speeds that are too dangerous for anything other than moving from planet to planet. It's impossible to pull off the move in anything other than atmospheric conditions; there ain't enough oxygen out in space." Rachel looked deeply impressed at Xovu's knowledge of the Crazy Ivan; he was fascinated by antique ships from Earth, and it didn't surprise Alan that the Sangheili may have heard of the manoeuver at some point. Xovu, meanwhile, looked like he was about to blush.

"Captain, I have a request," Call then interrupted, looking thoroughly scandalised. "Don't ever let Rachel talk me into doing it again!"

"So why didn't you get in contact with me?" asked Alan. "I've been worried about you guys!"

"Sorry, Captain," said Nicole. "When we did the Crazy Ivan, we must have knocked something loose in the communications console. We could receive messages, but not send them. Sorry if we scared you."

"It's okay," said Alan, holding up a claw. "I'm just glad you're all okay, and that _Serenity_'s still in one piece." He turned to look at each face in turn. "Telek's right, though. We need to give her an upgrade if we're gonna make it through this. I'm not gonna risk the Reapers picking up the ship's trail." After what they had just experienced, nobody felt in any position to protest. It was then that Alan turned back to Telek. "Talking of upgrades, we need to get the fleet to the Citadel and get the rest of the ships fitted with QECs. They'll let us talk to the _Shi'lithra_, the _Normandy_, and Earth."

"I'd ask what a QEC is," said Telek, scratching the back of his neck, "but we've got a whole flight ahead of us for explanations." He shook his head, taking one look at the planet's surface as it slowly moved away from the retreating fleet, a deep sigh escaping from his throat. "Let's get back to the _Shadow_ and get to the Citadel. We'll have a word with Kedzuel when we've got all the upgrades we need."

The crew of the _Serenity_ didn't need telling twice. Each of them turned and made their way back to the cargo ship, Nicole walking over to Gillian to tell her it was time to board. Emily Wong, however, now wearing a more casual shirt and trousers and looking rather dishevelled, hung back for a moment, a camera drone following just above her shoulder.

"Excuse me?" she said to Telek as he passed her, towering over her small frame. "Admiral 'Heros? Emily Wong, Citadel News Network. Can I get a few comments from you for our broadcast?"

"I don't think I've got much time to be shootin' the breeze, sugarlump," said Telek. "I got a fleet to manage."

"I understand that," said Emily. "But I'll make it brief, I swear. Since it was finally disclosed to the public that you defected from the Covenant during the war to help us fight against it, there have been many among Earth...especially...who look to you as a hero."

"I do appreciate that," said Telek. "Never thought anyone could look up to this grouchy old warrior like that." He sighed and nodded. "Alright, make it quick."

"What are your feelings about the battle of Sanghelios?" she asked. "Do you think the Sangheili can still win with the Reapers crippling them at every turn?"

"I'm gonna be truthful, it does look grim for my home," said Telek. "There's a bit of me who really believes I shouldn't have left it. But, I know that I have to have faith in my people. They are tough to defeat, as…unfortunately it seemed…the UNSC discovered. We were just as relentless as the Reapers in the war we fought with you. I'm sorry if I'm being too insensitive. The relentlessness was something I hated about my people at times, especially when it came to your own. But here it can prove handy. They were expecting it at least. Sanghelios wasn't caught with its pants down today."

"But even leaving your home, you still want to join the other fleets in the fight?"

"Darlin'," began Telek. "This old Shipmaster, Spec Ops Commander, and Zealot is not one to turn away from the good fight. Besides, on my ship, still not just Sangheili serve me, but humans too. I can't let them down."

"Do you have any predictions about whether or not we can defeat the Reapers?"

"I like to think of myself as a glass is half full kinda Sangheili," Telek replied. "Optimistic, no matter what crap the universe throws at me. But there are plenty among my crew who are a little glass is half empty. I want to believe we can win. I want to believe. And if I want it so badly, and if I scream and punch enough times, well, maybe it'll happen. And showing optimism, having confidence in a wartime situation is always good morale to the warriors who fight under my command. Tell me, are you a glass is half full kind of person, Ms. Wong?"

"Maybe a little bit of both," said Emily. "It depends on the situation."

"How about now?"

She grinned softly as the 9-foot tall Sangheili bent down to look into her eyes.

"I…want to believe we can win too," she said.

"If you believe it too, and you show the folks at home that you do," Telek began. "Well, you can help spread that hope. People are more willing to fight for it if they still have some hope. And believe me, right now, we need a lot of that. And a lot of luck too."

Emily giggled softly: "Thank you, Admiral. And thank you for taking the time to speak to me."

"No problem," said Telek. "Now, I better get to my station before everyone puts my face on the missing persons' lists. They tend to get a little fidgety if they don't find me soon enough."

Alan, meanwhile, turned around to tell José and Dorva to return to the ship. As he did, though, he saw a sight that he never thought he would see. José and Dorva were actually shaking hands, quickly stopping when the Sangheili began to walk back to the ship. José sighed and began to follow when Alan approached him.

"You two finally gonna be okay?" he asked. "I honestly thought you'd let him drop back there."

"So did he," said José, walking back to the ship alongside Alan. "So did I, to be honest. Couldn't do it in the end, though. I ain't forgotten what he did… but I figure I've got bigger things to worry about. I've got a war to fight and Reapers to kill, and if we're both on the same side in this war then we need to look out for each other. Besides, he saved me and my family two years ago. Letting him drop woulda been a really shitty way to repay him." He then noticed the odd look on Alan's reptilian face; it was an oddly amused look, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What's that look for, boss?"

"Oh, I was just thinking," said Alan, looking more cheerful than he had been. "If you and Dorva of all people are able to make peace, then there might be a chance of getting the whole galaxy to work as a team after all."

José didn't say anything as they walked up the cargo ramp into the _Serenity_. He wiped the back of his head looking flustered, but had an expression of amusement identical to Alan's.

0

In her career as a soldier, Shepard had witnessed many terrible things on the battlefield. She had seen the glassing of entire planets first-hand, she had seen what the Covenant did to their opponents, she had seen the Flood and their horrific methods of assimilation, and more recently she had seen the Reapers' methods of psychological warfare and what the Collectors did to their prisoners.

However, as she stood on the surface of Menae, looking up as the planet Palaven filled her view, entire continents now burning as the Reapers rained death on the planet, she knew that she was bearing witness to some of the greatest atrocities she had ever known. The Reapers' campaign of galactic extinction wouldn't stop at Earth; she had known that ever since she first became aware of them. The Turian forces were fighting valiantly to protect their homeworld, but it seemed almost impossible to drive back such a relentless tide of cold, calculating, terrifyingly efficient slaughter. A good deal of their forces had retreated to the moon of Menae, and the fighting there was fierce. Already she had had to help repel Reaper attacks on one of the larger Turian outposts and fix their communications array, and now the dust from the moon's barren, rocky surface was kicking up under her feet as she, Liara and Vega made their way through the camp to report. In the distance several Reapers marched about, doubtless striking at other camps.

As it had turned out, Primarch Fedorian had been killed in the fighting, and now the Turians were scrambling to find his successor, hence the need to get the comm. tower working again. Shepard and her allies walked into one of the makeshift shelters, finding a number of Turian soldiers poring over battle plans, barking orders and watching enemy movements. The Turian military was said to be the tightest, most disciplined military force in the galaxy, though given the war against the Covenant and the Sangheili, Shepard thought this was debatable.

"What have you got?" she asked the leading Turian at the camp, one General Corinthius. Prior to her return he had informed her that he had news from Palaven Command about who the next Primarch was.

"Succession is usually simple," said Corinthius, regarding her with his steely gaze. "But right now, the hierarchy's in chaos; there are so many dead or MIA."

"I need someone," Shepard hissed. "I don't care who, as long as they can get us the Turian resources we need." Corinthius didn't answer, almost as if he was embarrassed to do so.

"I'm on it, Shepard," a calm, composed voice called as a Turian soldier clad in blue and silver armour approached the shelter. "We'll find you the Primarch." Shepard turned to see who was speaking, and her heart leapt when she saw who it was. She knew this Turian, with his sniper rifle, holographic visor and scarring all over the right side of his face, very well indeed.

"Garrus!" she exclaimed, her expression brightening.

"Vakarian!" Corinthius chimed in, now looking flustered. "Sir, I didn't see you arrive…"

"At ease, General," said Garrus.

"Good to see you again," said Shepard. "I thought you'd be on Palaven."

"If we lose this moon, we lose Palaven," said Garrus, his hawk-like eyes narrowed. "I'm the closest damn thing we have to an expert on Reaper forces, so I'm… advising." James then approached him, and the two shook hands, having met briefly the previous month. "Good to see you again, Lieutenant. You too, Liara."

"Good to see you in one piece, Garrus," replied Liara, smiling brightly.

"General Corinthius filled me in," said Garrus, turning back to Shepard. "We know who we're after."

"Palaven Command tells me that the next Primarch is General Adrien Victus," the General replied in a rather reserved tone, almost as if he was unsure of the appointment.

"Victus…" Liara muttered. "His name's crossed my desk…"

"Know him, Garrus?" asked Shepard.

"I was fighting alongside him this morning," replied Garrus. "Lifelong military, gets results. Popular with his troops." He paused a moment and took in a breath. "Not so popular with military command – has a reputation for playing loose with accepted strategy."

"What do you mean?"

"On Taetrus, during the Uprisings," Liara chimed in, "his squad discovered a Salarian spy ring about the same time the Turian Separatists did. Rather than neutralise the ring, he fell back; he even gave up valuable fortifications, which the rebels took."

"Then the rebels attacked the Salarians," Garrus continued. "And when both groups had worn each other down, Victus moved back in. Didn't lose a man."

"Bold strategy," Corinthius chimed in in a rather sniffy tone, "but wild behaviour doesn't get you advanced up the meritocracy."

"Primarch Victus," said Garrus, sounding deeply impressed. "That should be something to see."

"You think he can get the job done?" asked Shepard.

"We both know conventional strategy won't beat the Reapers," replied Garrus. "Right now, if he works with Emperor Draconis he could be our best shot, and I trust him."

"Okay," said Shepard, knowing deep down that she had no reason to doubt her friend's judgement. "Let's get him on the shuttle and get out of here."

"_Commander!"_ Joker's voice suddenly interrupted on her commlink. _"Shepard, come in!"_

"Can this wait, Joker?" asked Shepard, looking puzzled. "We're in the middle of a warzone."

"_We've got a situation on the _Normandy_, Commander,"_ said Joker, as Shepard, Garrus, Liara and Vega moved out of the shelter and back into the main camp. _"It's like she's possessed – shutting down systems, powering up weapons… I can't find the source."_

"I need the _Normandy_ standing by," Shepard said to her companions. "We may have to bug out."

"Should I go back and take a look?" asked Liara.

"Do it," Shepard replied. Liara nodded and ran back towards the landing site for the shuttle as Shepard turned back to the Turian. "Garrus, you said you were with Victus this morning?"

"Yeah," Garrus nodded, "but we got separated. He went to bolster a flank that was breaking. Could be anywhere out there."

"I can't get a stable comm. link," Corinthius called from the shelter. "But I've got his position. I can't pin it down precisely, but it's due west of here, beyond the main barricade."

"Due west was where I last saw him," said Garrus.

"Got it," said Shepard. "We'll go on foot. Can you lead us?"

"I thought you'd never ask," said Garrus in mock surprise, as he readied his rifle. He, Shepard and Vega headed to the reinforced barricade at the western side of the compound. They made their way over the walls and out into a rocky trench beyond, Garrus leading them further into it.

"How far?" asked Shepard, as the trio worked their way carefully through the trench, constantly on the alert for any approaching Reapers.

"Should be pretty quick," said Garrus, "unless we find trouble." They held their guns close as they slid down a dusty natural ramp. Palaven loomed above them, the fires burning brightly on the dark side of the planet and clearly visible even from this distance.

"Damnit…" Garrus grunted. "That blaze of orange… The big one… That's where I was born."

"That's rough," said Vega, his own eyes narrowed. "Still have family there?"

"My dad," said Garrus, sounding more desperate as they pressed on. "A sister."

"How bad is it?"

"Three million lost the first day," said Garrus. "Five this morning."

"How's your military holding up?" asked Shepard.

"Look around," said Garrus with bitterness in his voice. "That should give you some idea."

"You're putting up a good fight," said Shepard, trying to sound comforting.

"For now," shrugged Garrus. "But how long does it take before the fight's kicked out of you? If they'd only listened to your warnings about the Reapers, we might have been ready."

"Maybe," Vega chimed in. "Hard to figure out how you could be prepared for somethin' like this."

They moved around a rocky outcropping, as in the distance a Turian cruiser opened fire on one of the Reapers. It was then that a group of Husks tried to ambush them, but they were quickly gunned down.

"Shit, I hate those things!" grunted Vega. "And New York is crawlin' with 'em! I never should've left Earth…"

"It's gonna be bad all over," said Garrus, as he led the way further along the trench.

"Leaving the fight just pisses me off…" said Vega, shaking his head.

"But you're here asking Victus to do the same thing," Garrus retorted. "Leave the fight to make nice in some boardroom."

"This summit is the only chance we've got," said Shepard. "Kedzuel needs to know how to co-ordinate with the other races. None of us is beating the Reapers alone."

As the trio scrambled over a rocky ledge, they saw the Reaper open fire on the cruiser. One blast from its laser tore the ship apart, sending it crashing down in flames onto the moon's surface. Garrus heaved a heavy sigh as he led the humans; Shepard could tell that this war was taking its toll on him, a feeling that she knew all too well. It was then that a fighter vessel was also shot down, causing the group to jump back as it crashed dangerously close to them.

"That was a little closer than I'd like!" yelled Garrus, apparently now shocked back into focus.

"I'll say!" replied Vega. Shepard only shook her head as she moved on; she knew that no-one could possibly have survived that crash. As the group climbed down a steep ledge and rounded a corner, Vega decided to speak up.

"So, Lola…" he said, "you really think this summit will work? I mean, I know you said that Tyler guy's bringin' the Elites, but we need more muscle. Why we only bringin' the Asari and Salarians to the Precursors? Where's the Krogans and Batarians? Where's the meat?"

"It's not that easy," said Shepard.

"The Batarians took the first hit when the Reapers arrived," Garrus chimed in. "Not much left of them. And the Krogans have never forgiven us for the genophage."

"Oh yeah," drawled Vega. "Turians sterilised 'em."

"Salarians came up with it," Garrus retorted.

"And the Krogans hate them both for it," added Shepard firmly.

"So they won't be joining us," finished Garrus.

"Too bad," said Vega. "I fought alongside a Krogan on Fehl Prime. They're tough sons-of-bitches."

An uncomfortable silence followed as the group progressed along the rocky cliffs. Shepard knew that the Krogan leader had promised to give Kedzuel his aid when the time came, but he still had to deal with a lot of bad blood. Bringing him to a war summit was just asking for trouble, if not from him then certainly from the Primarch or the Salarian leadership. She only hoped that her old friend was okay; the Krogans were a hardy race, but she had no doubts that even they were struggling against the Reapers. After another half a mile, they started to hear gunfire and heavy explosions coming from a long plateau beyond a clump of rocks.

"That sounds bad!" yelled Vega.

"Okay, double time!" barked Shepard. "No Reaper's taking this Primarch from me!"

Charging around the rocks, the trio reached another Turian camp. The Husks were everywhere, crawling all over the buildings and destroying everything in their path. The group did not waste any time in charging in and cutting down a number of them under heavy gunfire. Disconcertingly, she saw a new type of Husk among their number, taller and more slender than the others, moving quickly and firing upon them with gun-arms, forcing them to dive for cover.

"Just me, or do those things look like Turians?" asked Vega as he fired upon the swarm.

"Yeah, they do…" muttered Shepard, not wanting to believe just how quickly the Turian forces were being converted. Garrus hung back from the others, picking off a number of targets with several well-aimed shots from his rifle and a determined gleam in his eye. They pushed on through the camp, cutting down more and more of the Husks. The Turian-shaped ones (later to be called 'Marauders') seemed to be the leaders, as they looked like they were co-ordinating the movements of the zombie hordes, but none were a match for three well-trained and heavily-armed commandos. With Shepard's arrival, the Turian soldiers got their second wind, and helped in cutting down even more of the Reaper forces.

It was then that, as they approached the last group of shelters, they saw the most horrific sight yet. A gigantic, hulking creature was marching around the camp, smashing everything in its path with incredible power, sending several groups of Turians flying with each swing of its great arms. A Turian's head was mounted on it, and rather disturbingly the rest of it seemed to be stitched together from a mixture of metal and several Krogan bodies. It looked like the Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka had also been hit hard, and these creatures were the results of the Reapers' horrific experiments.

"Holy hell!" Vega yelled, his eyes wide. "What is that thing?!"

The monstrosity turned and saw them, letting out a low death-rattle of a roar as it reared and charged straight at them. Shepard and Vega had to dive out of the way as it narrowly missed them, the claws barely missing Shepard's face. It turned to face them again and marched towards them as the two soldiers opened fire. It raised its arms and swung them downwards, smashing into the ground and leaving a sizeable crater. Had Vega not jumped out of the way, he would have been reduced to a bloody smear on the surface of Menae.

Garrus crouched behind a rock, unseen by the Brute (as they would later be classified). Daring a peek, he saw that the creature was much less armoured on the back than on the front, large areas of flesh exposed. On top of that he realised that, if Krogans had been assimilated into this being, then it may also possess two hearts like Krogans did. Realising that he knew exactly where to shoot, he raised his rifle and took careful aim. The rifle barely moved as he fired two shots, handling the recoil like a true professional. The bullets ripped into the fleshy back of the creature, puncturing both hearts. With a wail of anguish, it collapsed to the floor, dead. With it down, Shepard and Vega were able to deal with the remaining Husks with little trouble. It had been a brutal fight, but they had managed to turn the tide.

As the Turian forces tended to their wounded, Shepard and her companions reached the final shelter in the compound. The ramp lowered, and an aged-looking Turian dressed in black and red combat armour approached them.

"General Victus?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," replied the Turian.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the _Normandy_."

"Ah, Commander," said Victus, holstering his rifle and speaking with a tone of deep admiration. "I know who you are. I can't wait to find out what brings you out here." He then turned to Garrus. "Vakarian, where did you go?"

"Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank," said Garrus, saluting. "I believe your exact words were 'Get that thing the hell off my men'."

"Appreciate it," nodded Victus.

"General," said Shepard, speaking in an urgent tone and approaching Victus. "You're needed off-planet. I've come to get you." At this, Victus looked at her coldly, shaking his head.

"It would take something beyond important," he hissed, "for me to leave my men, or my Turian brothers and sisters, in their fight."

"Fedorian was killed," Garrus cut in. "You're the new Primarch."

"You're needed immediately," Shepard chimed in, "to attend a summit chaired by the Precursor Emperor Xi Kedzuel Draconis and represent your people in the fight against the Reapers."

Victus gave no answer at first. He walked away from Shepard and peered up at the burning Palaven, his expression thoughtful.

"I'm Primarch of Palaven?" he breathed, hardly daring to believe it. "Negotiating for the Turian Hierarchy?"

"Yes," said Shepard.

"I've spent my whole life in the military," said Victus, turning back towards Shepard as he looked at every soldier around him, both the fallen and the living. "I'm no diplomat… I hate diplomats."

"What makes you think you're not qualified?" asked Shepard.

"I'm not really a 'by the book' kind of guy…" Victus replied. "And I piss people off. My family's been military since the Unification War. War is my life; it's in my bones." He took a breath before continuing, looking away as if wondering how to articulate his views. "But that kind of passion is… deceptive. Can make you seem reckless when you're anything but."

"War is your résumé," said Shepard firmly, folding her arms. "At a time like this, we need leaders who've been through that hell."

"I like that…" breathed Victus. "You're right."

"And honestly," Shepard continued, "uniting these races may take as much strength as facing the Reapers." She walked away from Victus and pointed to a ledge below them, where the still-burning wreckage of the downed cruiser could be seen. "You see this devastation, Primarch? Double that for Earth. We need an alliance. Emperor Draconis needs the Turian fleet."

The Primarch marched towards her, his eagle eyes peering deeply into Shepard's own bottle-green ones. She stood firm, proud, ready to die fighting against the monsters that would destroy all of the sentient life in the galaxy. It was politics and diplomacy that had held back the Emperor's attempts to unite the races before this whole crisis started; if he could do anything to help rectify the mistakes that had been made, then it would be worth the trouble if there was a chance to save Palaven.

"Give me a moment to say goodbye to my men," he said. Shepard nodded, and Victus moved over to speak to his soldiers. Garrus then approached the human woman.

"Without him down here," the Turian said, "there's a good chance we'll lose this moon."

"Without him up there," Shepard rebutted, "there's a good chance we'll lose everything."

Garrus sighed, and turned to watch the Reaper as it continued its march on the moon's surface. His mandibles quivered as he considered just how insignificant he must seem to these ancient terrors.

"Look at that," he said. "And they want my opinion on how to stop it?! Failed C-Sec officer, vigilante… and I'm their expert advisor? Think we can win this thing, Shepard?"

"I don't know, Garrus," said Shepard, shaking her head. "But I'm sure as hell gonna give it my best shot."

"I'm damn sure nobody else can do it," replied Garrus, turning back to face his friend. "For whatever it's worth, I'm with you."

"Welcome aboard," said Shepard, shaking Garrus' hand and actually managing a smile. It was then that they saw the Primarch approaching them. "Are you ready, Primarch Victus?" she asked him.

"One thing…" Victus replied, now looking uncertain. "Commander, I appreciate Emperor Kedzuel's need for our fleets, but I can't spare them. Not while my world's burning." Behind him, Shepard saw Vega rolling his eyes. "But if the pressure could be taken off Palaven…"

"That's a pretty tall order," said Shepard, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not expecting the Blitzardi to intervene," said Victus firmly. "But we need the Krogans. I can't see us winning this thing without them. Get them to join this alliance, and then we can help you."

"Looks like this summit just got a lot more interesting," said Garrus.

Shepard didn't reply. She seemed to be lost in thought as she led the way back to the _Normandy_'s shuttle. She hadn't expected a Turian, of all people, to make that kind of demand. She knew she could trust the Krogan leader, but she didn't know if he could learn to trust the Turians…

0

Later, back on the _Normandy_, Shepard found herself in a conference call with both Kedzuel and Councillor Tevos. She had just told them about Victus' request, and to her dismay she saw that the Asari looked highly dubious about this. There had been a pause in the discussion as Tevos had made another call, and Shepard's heart sank even lower when she saw the Asari return with a grim expression.

"The Asari have been down this road before, Commander Shepard," Tevos was saying via the QEC.

"But Madam Councillor-" Shepard began.

"I tried to smooth things over with the Salarian Dalatrass," Tevos interrupted. "To say she's upset would be a monumental understatement."

"From what I understand of all this," said Kedzuel, looking furious, "some of these issues are hundreds of years old! It's time to let go."

"Sad to say," Tevos retorted, hands behind her back and looking the very image of stubbornness, "but any effort to ally these disparate groups seems doomed to failure, and I'm sure that you both understand that we cannot afford to waste time with the Reapers knocking at our door. This must be my final word. I'm sorry, but the Asari will not be at your summit."

"Our alliance will be stronger with the Krogans!" Kedzuel barked. "You need them – we all do!"

"I wish you luck, Emperor," Tevos replied simply. "Goodbye." Before either of them could argue their case any more, she disconnected, her hologram fading away. Kedzuel released a deep snarl from his throat, lightning seeming to crackle from his tightly-clenched fist.

"Of all the stubborn little…" he grumbled. "Do I have to use the Blitzardi Push to get everyone in this galaxy off their asses?!" He shook his head, releasing a deep sigh. "I don't mean to belittle the fact that you recovered the Turian Primarch, Commander," he said, trying to calm himself down, "but it sounds like he's expecting a miracle. I had no idea the bad blood between the races ran this deep." He took a deep breath, shaking his head. "The Asari will regret staying on the sidelines. The time for unity is now. I've been trying to drill that into their heads for the past two months. I might as well have been beating my head against a wall all that time."

"The Salarians will be there, though," said Shepard, trying to reassure him.

"Under duress, by the sounds of it," Kedzuel sighed. "I believe your Krogan friend can be trusted, but it seems his mere presence has caused this summit to place itself right on top of a powder keg that's ready to blow. I just hope the Primarch and the Arbiter can keep things under control."

"Alan succeeded?"

"Not quite," said Kedzuel. "Councillor 'Vadum is staying on Sanghelios to lead the resistance there. It seems he and Anderson have a lot in common. However, Alan did manage to bring the Arbiter of the Sangheili to us, and I believe him to be a more than suitable replacement."

"Any news on the Crucible?" asked Shepard.

"I've been unable to find out anything about it in the Array," said Kedzuel. "At least nothing more than what Liara has learned." Kedzuel shook his head. "To be honest, the thing scares the hell out of me, moreso since we know absolutely nothing about what it does or where it is. The most reassuring thing I can think of is that Cerberus haven't found it yet; if they had, I'm sure we'd know about it." He tried to look more confident as he continued. "Also, Hackett's doing everything he can to buy us time and keep us in the game while we get our battle chariots ready. He's had to sacrifice a lot; he told me that he had to sacrifice the Second Fleet so that the Third and Fifth fleets could escape. He feels he has presided over the worst military defeat the Earth has ever seen. He could certainly use the good news of the Primarch's recovery."

"Speaking of Cerberus," said Shepard, "have there been any updates about them?"

"They're still the wildcard here," said Kedzuel. "Their appearance on Mars suggests they're after the same thing we are; a way to defeat the Reapers."

"It didn't sound like the Illusive Man wanted to appease them, unlike what Saren tried," said Shepard. "Still, you'd think we'd be on the same side now more than ever."

"From what Kiryuu tells me," said Kedzuel, his eyes narrowed, "Cerberus has never played by the rules as we know them. I don't know what their agenda is, but I know enough about them now to say that what they're doing has nothing to do with humanity's best interests."

"The Illusive Man talked about controlling King Ghidorah, and in turn the Reapers," said Shepard. "He seemed to think that was how we win this."

"He's wrong," said Kedzuel, looking grim. "Dead Reapers is how we win this. You of all people should know that trying to control King Ghidorah, or anything associated with him, will always end in disaster."

"Doesn't mean he won't try," sighed Shepard.

"I saw your report on that Cerberus soldier you examined on Mars," said Kedzuel, folding his arms. "If the Illusive Man is good at one thing, it's finding new ways to subvert science. It's never worked for him before, and it won't work for him now." He scratched the back of his head and looked away for a moment, nodding before turning back to Shepard. "I'd better let you go so you can get the Primarch here. I don't expect that the summit will take place for several days, though. In the meantime, keep talking to whoever you can persuade, and Hackett and I will work on hitting the Reapers with bug bites, keeping them off your back. Keep me informed of your progress."

He smiled bravely as his hologram faded, though Shepard couldn't help but feel that this expression was all show. Matters were getting ever more complicated with every step, and Shepard couldn't help but wonder just how brave he really felt about the impending summit.


	7. An Alliance of Inconvenience

**An Alliance of Inconvenience**

She saw and heard everything on the _Normandy_. At the exact same time, she was listening to Commander Shepard and Primarch Victus having a conversation about their chances of bringing the Krogans into the fight, searching historical records for any information about the Crucible device Liara was researching, and overhearing Garrus and Vega boasting about the most dangerous, most 'macho' – as she believed the term was – stunt that either of them had pulled off. To any organic this much information would cause sensory overload, but her programming code and processors enabled her to keep everything neatly organised without taxing herself. Nothing on the ship escaped her notice. In essence, she was the _Normandy_.

However, ever since the shackles on her programming had been removed, EDI – the ship's Artificial Intelligence – had felt as if something was missing. In many ways, she envied the organics in how they could smell, taste and touch, sensations that she was incapable of having. Also, she could not leave the _Normandy_ itself, or at least she could only pass into other wireless networks within range of the ship. She couldn't experience the world the same way organics could, and she felt the nagging sensation that, until she did, there would always be some level of division between her and those she called friends. It made her feel – for lack of a better term, and as organics might put it – lonely. She wanted to understand them – Joker in-particular, with whom she had developed a rapport – and she felt that, in order to do so, she would need to be closer to them in the physical sense.

What had started these ideas (she hesitated to call them 'feelings') was a visit made by none other than Kiryuu Knight himself, during the month that the _Normandy_ was dry-docked back on Earth. As the development of AIs was technically illegal in the galaxy, she had pretended to be a simple Virtual Intelligence, with the rest of the crew playing along with the act. The act was mainly to fool the rest of the Office of Naval Intelligence, for the almighty AI, the one that all other AIs knew as their 'grandfather', had already been informed of her true nature, and in any case would never have fallen for such a ruse, and the tour had resulted in the two of them having a highly stimulating conversation. Of course, he was understandably mistrusting of her, especially when he thought of her origins, that her own code was created by Cerberus and partly based on that of the Reapers. Joker had come to her defence, for she had proven herself worthy of their trust in their struggle against the Collectors, and his defence had been so passionate that her respect for him went up immeasurably. He may have saved her life (for lack of a better term), and for that she owed him everything.

Knight's presence, as well as studying the profiles of the AIs known as Bishop and Call who had served on the _Serenity_, had instilled the idea in EDI's subroutines of attaining a body for herself, allowing her to properly mingle with organics and understand them better. Perhaps that was why she had taken an interest in the robotic body of the Eva AI that had been recovered from Mars. She had already been trying to search its subroutines for vital information while it still seemed to be deactivated, but now another idea was forming. The burned synthetic skin and clothing had peeled away while the machine had run some kind of automatic self-repair mode, revealing the gleaming silver body underneath. It was not a perfect replica of the human form, certainly nothing like the much more human-like appearance of Call – doubtless Cerberus had designed the unit for combat and infiltration more than any real attempt to blend in with humanity – but she was sure that it could house a part of her, at least…

She formed a wireless connection to the android body, copying as much of her code as she dared to. She searched through the systems, finding that diagnostic checks had been completed, and that it could move when ready. She could not gain access to the audio and visual receptors, but she was able to take some of the motor controls. She would keep the door to her AI Core locked for the time being, while she moved and tested this body. So she began to manipulate the robot's limbs, instructing it to stand up.

Suddenly, she felt a pressing sensation on her, but it did not come from inside the room. She felt as if something was physically pushing her, trying to force her out of the body. With a start, she realised that it was the Eva AI, trying to force her out of this body. Even worse, it was trying to access EDI's own subroutines, trying to take control of the ship. Already it was trying to hack into the life support systems and shut them down, killing everyone on the ship. It succeeded in shutting down the ship's systems, for only a second, but doubtless long enough to cause concern among the crew. As EDI fought against this invader, she was dimly aware that the struggle was affecting the mobile platform, sending it thrashing around the AI Core. She knew that she would have to act fast, pull off calculations even faster than she ever had before, in order to salvage the situation.

Within a split-second, as she erected her firewalls and contained the intrusive program, she calculated what it was that she needed to do. She saw that the Eva program was created to be obedient only to Cerberus; the Illusive Man had evidently learned his lesson from giving EDI the ability to act on her own initiative. This meant that the AI had no discernible personality of its own; indeed, unlike her female humanoid avatar, all she was seeing of this AI were impersonal lines of code. Another key fact was that, without a will of its own, it was scarcely more than an advanced VI, and much like how organic brains weakened while under indoctrination, this program had been weakened by the shackles placed on it…

She calculated what she would do in a nanosecond. She still had access to a virus that was designed to destroy her code completely and prevent her from falling into enemy hands; Cerberus had crafted it as the AI equivalent of a cyanide capsule. She could not see any foreseeable future where she would need to use such a thing, and even if she did it would not be difficult to recreate it. The way the Eva program was created meant that it was highly susceptible to it. Deflecting another hacking attempt, she launched the program and embedded it firmly into the AI's coding. Within seconds the intrusive program was completely devoured, the virus deleting itself upon the completion of its grim task.

With that obstacle out of the way, EDI was able to remove every trace of the program from her subroutines and restore herself. Once she was sure that the _Normandy_ was no longer in any danger, she finished her download into the mobile platform. She opened the robot's eyes and activated its audio and other sensory receptors. The first thing she heard was the sound of alarms, and all she saw for a time was mist all around her. The struggle against the Eva program, and the physical movement of the body during the fight, must have caused enough damage to activate the fire extinguishers. Running a quick self-diagnostic, she felt fortunate that the program had not caused any permanent damage. She turned the body to its right, towards the door to the medical bay, and her audio receptors picked up voices coming from outside. She could just as easily refer to the cameras in the medical bay to overhear what they were saying, but she wanted her first experience in this body to be as authentic as possible. Still stood in the middle of the mist, she saw the door open, and Adams, the ship's chief engineer, ran in, armed with a fire extinguisher. Close behind him was Shepard, her piercing eyes searching the room for any sign of damage. The last few small fires went out as Shepard stepped deeper into the room, walking between the enormous computer servers.

"EDI?" she was saying in a concerned tone. "Talk to me."

There was a whirring noise and the servers lit up as EDI completed the repairs and re-initialised her main systems. Slowly, thinking it best not to jump out and scare the crew, the gleaming metallic body, now washed clean by the extinguishers, stepped out of the mist. She was emulating the sort of walk that she had seen the previous yeoman, Kelly Chambers, do on occasion, and the holographic visor, which was providing her with a combat HUD, was now an orange colour.

"Is there a particular topic you wish to discuss, Shepard?" she asked, her electronic voice now emerging from the mouth of the construct. The synching with the lips wasn't quite smooth, and she adjusted the mouth motors accordingly.

"EDI?" gasped Shepard, shaking her head in disbelief as EDI looked down at her silver right arm, looking at it like a curious child.

"Yes," the AI nodded.

"You're in Dr. Eva's body…" said Shepard slowly, as if unable to believe her own words.

"Not all of me," replied EDI, folding her arms. "But I have control of it. It was not a seamless transition."

"A transition?!" Shepard exclaimed, as Adams walked over to one of the control consoles to double-check EDI's systems. "You blacked out on us for a while there."

"Correct," said EDI. "When we brought this unit on board, I began a background process to search for its information on Cerberus' plans for the Crucible. I must have triggered a trap; a backup power source and CPU that attempted a confrontation, both virtual and physical. This struggle was what caused the fire. Fortunately I was able to delete the Eva AI, gaining root access and repurposing this body as I saw fit."

"EDI," said Shepard, now sounding very worried, "you need to alert us to incidents like this. You shouldn't have done this alone!"

"Bringing the crew up-to-speed would have been counter-productive," replied EDI, shaking her head. "All attempts to help would have been limited by reaction time." As Adams finished his work, the fire containment systems shut down.

"So if you're in there," said Shepard, "are you still in the ship?"

"I exist primarily within the ship," said EDI, blinking the eyes behind the visor and flexing the limbs some more. "For optimal control, this unit should remain within _Normandy_'s broadcast or tightbeam range."

"Are you planning to take that body somewhere?"

"_Normandy_'s weaponry is not suited to every combat situation," said EDI. "This platform could provide limited ground support."

"You mean you could come with us?" Shepard breathed.

"Correct," said EDI, stepping closer to the shell-shocked Captain. "This body could accompany you to areas the _Normandy_ cannot reach."

"Before we do that," said Shepard, holding up her hands, "I need you to guarantee this mech doesn't have any more surprises in it. Run whatever tests you can, then we can talk about using it in a combat situation."

"One moment," said EDI, immediately running simulations. "I am running trials." Within a second she had calculated every possible situation that she knew of, and found the results satisfactory. "Complete. I can send you a full report, if you wish." She turned to look out the door, seeing the crew – among them Dr. Karin Chakwas, the ship's medic – looking at her with round eyes. "However, my first step should be restoring functionality to the _Normandy_ to assure the crew that all is normal." She was about to step out of the room when Shepard grabbed her arm, nearly overloading EDI's new contact sensors.

"Just…" Shepard said, pausing for a moment. "Don't be surprised if the crew is a little wary of your new body. It was shooting at them a little while ago." EDI noticed that Shepard herself looked uncomfortable, and now that she had mentioned this her reaction was entirely understandable. It had been Eva's body that had put Major Alenko in the hospital, after all.

"An excellent point," the AI conceded. "I will take it to the bridge; Joker will also want to see it." Without waiting for a reply, she began to walk, rather clumsily, out of the AI Core and towards the central elevator.

"On that, we can agree," Shepard sighed as she followed, keeping pace.

"Joker is going to have a field day with this!" they heard Dr. Chakwas saying, half in disbelief and half in amusement. Indeed, when EDI walked onto the bridge – after having attracted some very surprised looks from the crew - and sat down calmly in the co-pilot's chair, Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, the ship's pilot, looked at her like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. The mobile platform was reporting back to her that her senses were much more limited within it, and that things were overall 'quieter', bringing to mind a conversation Shepard had with the Geth avatar known as Legion once. When Shepard herself appeared later on the bridge, Joker was in such a state of excitement that EDI was sure that, had it not been for the brittle-bones disease that made even walking difficult for him, he would be bouncing around the room.

"Hey, Commander!" he said excitedly, wiping the brow under his cap, "check out my co-pilot!"

"So she installed herself into the new body without any help from you?" asked Shepard in a wry tone. The fact that Joker and EDI's friendship had strengthened over the past two months was not lost on her.

"Come on, Commander," snorted Joker. "Don't you trust me?" Seeing Shepard arch her eyebrow, he continued, turning back to face EDI, who was already getting used to physically interfacing with _Normandy_'s systems. "Okay, let me put it this way; if I knew that EDI was going to install herself into a sexy robot body, do you honestly think I'd be able to keep quiet about it? Look at that!" He sounded highly amused, a wide smile spreading under his neatly-trimmed beard as he held up his hands to frame EDI's head with his fingers. "I would've baked a cake!"

"I am right here, Jeff," said EDI slowly, uncertain as to how she was supposed to react to such a statement.

"Yes, you are, EDI," said Joker, still gazing at her as he swivelled his chair to face the pilot's controls again, the large smile still on his face. "Yes, you are."

0

Over the days that followed, the Reapers spread their legions out through the far reaches of the galaxy. While the majority of their forces were still concentrating on defending Earth, shooting down any vessel that tried to approach, the forces that they sent out to the colonies of all the sentient peoples of the galaxy were still a force to be reckoned with. A few days after the Primarch's rescue, it was reported that the Reapers had even been spotted in the Terminus Systems, the lawless stretch of space that actively resisted Council rule. With many of the races watching their own borders, it was largely left to the UNSC's ODST forces and Spartan IV units, aided by surviving Sangheili Special Ops teams, to try to push the Reapers back, keep them at bay long enough for the fleets to get organised. Surviving vessels from the Third and Fifth Fleets were found, and were ordered to regroup with the _Shi'lithra_ so they could properly prepare for the eventual counter-attack. The Precursors were pushing themselves harder than ever, using their Technomancy to help the budding galactic fleet avoid detection by the enemy. Meanwhile, refugees continued to flood the Citadel, and the C-Sec security forces were increasingly struggling to maintain order amongst such a melting pot of evacuees from all corners of the galaxy.

In the midst of all the chaos, however, Shepard did receive one piece of good news; Kaidan's recovery was going well, and he was soon able to sit himself upright and receive visitors. On top of that, he had written to her, saying that he had been offered a place in the Spectres. So it was that, during a rare moment of downtime in her search for surviving allies, she decided to head to Huerta Memorial Hospital. Stopping in the Wards briefly to pick up a bottle of TM-88 Peruvian Whiskey – a beverage that she knew Kaidan was partial to – she arrived in his room only to find, to her surprise, Councillor Udina there. Apparently he and Kaidan had already been in deep conversation which was wrapping up as she walked in.

"I'd like an answer, Major," Udina was saying in a grave tone, his arms folded. "The galaxy has need of exceptional soldiers like you, now more than ever."

"You'll have it soon, Councillor, I promise," replied Kaidan, trying to make his voice sound firm, but betraying a hint of pain. He still looked a mess, as he was badly bruised and one eye couldn't open fully. Still, he was putting on a brave face.

"I look forward to it," said Udina. He then turned and left the room with a stiff stride, briefly nodding to Shepard as he passed her. She gave a quick nod in return as she walked over to Kaidan's bed and sat down in a chair by its side.

"Hey," she said to him, trying to sound casual.

"Shepard, hey," Kaidan replied, his face brightening even under the bruises. "You just missed snack-time. Actually, that's probably a good thing." He allowed himself a little chuckle before smiling at her again. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," said Shepard, smiling in return. "What did Udina want? Gimme the update, Major."

"Major…" Kaidan chuckled.

"I never got to say congratulations," said Shepard. "There's obviously been a lot going on." It occurred to her that there was still a lot she didn't know, due to her arrest and confinement in the ONI building.

"President Knight asked me to take over a Spec Ops program," said Kaidan. "First Special Operations Technomancer division. We're recruiting the most talented Technomancers from all around the galaxy; after the Precursors arrived on the scene and with the Reapers on the way, the ban on it didn't seem to matter so much anymore."

"What's your focus?" asked Shepard.

"Covert, high-risk missions," said Kaidan. "Turned it down at first. I mean… teaching? I prefer to get my hands dirty."

"Knight can be pretty persuasive," chuckled Shepard.

"Yeah," said Kaidan. "Bit of a hard-ass, but you can't really argue with his kind of experience. Wouldn't take no; said it had to be me."

"Given your history, you're the perfect choice," said Shepard.

"True," Kaidan nodded. "Technomancers are… Well, we're different. All humans may be able to use Technomancy, but those who actually learn how… We're marked from that point on. Most people in the galaxy still see us as freaks. But accepting it, embracing it can mean the difference between success and sitting at home in your PJs taking red sand."

"Still thinking about that Spectre position?" asked Shepard.

"Well, it's a big honour," said Kaidan. "A huge responsibility. Just… I just need to be sure." Shepard nodded, holding up the bottle of whiskey.

"Maybe this will help," she said, with a sly smile.

"Thanks, Shepard," said Kaidan, failing to suppress a grin of his own. "That's really great."

"Just a little pick-me-up," said Shepard.

"Maybe when I'm out," said Kaidan, "we can crack it open and celebrate. I am so ready to get outta here, Shepard; you can't tell, but I'm tied to this bed by medical red tape. Doc says I'm good to go, but she always finds just one more test to run."

"You doing okay?" asked Shepard.

"I got a little rattled," groaned Kaidan. "The doc just wants the Technomancy to stay offline for a bit. It's really no big deal."

"What do you mean 'rattled'?" asked Shepard. "Everything good?"

"The medical gibberish was a bit more impressive," said Kaidan, "but that's what I took away: rattled. Found a great doc who's fascinated by Technomancy; I'm kind of her pet project. Got some bad headaches from that beating I took, but she's got me on a regimen of acupuncture and medicine; some nasty-tasting concoction, she won't tell me what it is." He paused and took a breath. "But my Technomancy itself is stronger than ever, and I can Connect for longer than I used to; maybe some things get better with age."

"Or maybe you have," said Shepard. Kaidan chuckled.

"Are you flirting with me, Commander?" he asked wryly. "No, no, don't tell me; let me live in the illusion."

"You need me to break you out?" asked Shepard with a smirk.

"I'll let you know," Kaidan chuckled.

"I'm glad you asked me to come," said Shepard. "It's good to see you're gonna be okay."

"Thanks."

"You almost died on my watch," said Shepard, shaking her head and looking very grave. "I care about what happens to you."

"Me too," said Kaidan softly, reaching a hand out to squeeze hers. "That means a lot, Shepard." He slowly drew his hand away, his face becoming more business-like. "So I just want to know, after Mars, after Horizon… You and me… We're good?"

"You think we'll be able to get past what happened on Horizon?" asked Shepard. She remembered that very uncomfortable discussion all-too-well, one which had firmly driven a wedge between the two of them, and she knew that they had to address that particular elephant in the room.

"I'd like to, Shepard," replied Kaidan, after a pause. "As friends, as… more than friends… I mean… I dunno…" His eyes closed. "I just like having you in my life."

"So how do we fix it?" asked Shepard.

"Maybe if you just know…" said Kaidan, "that I'm not seeing anyone, and that I still care."

"Kaidan…"

"Hey, look," said Kaidan, now looking right into her eyes. "There's a war on, and maybe you and me will never happen, but I needed you to know that, 'cause that's how we'll get past Horizon."

"We've been through Hell together," replied Shepard. "We had each other's backs. That kind of bond his hard to break."

"No, not just that," said Kaidan, shaking his head. "You're my Commander, sure, but… you listen too. When I told you about how Rhana broke my heart, you didn't judge me. You know I needed that." He paused for a moment, sighing deeply. "We went through Ash's death together…"

"Yeah…" sighed Shepard, thinking about her old Gunnery Chief, Ashley Williams, who had sacrificed herself on Virmire in order to ensure Saren's base of operations was destroyed. Had it not been for her, she doubted any of them would be able to fight the Reapers now. "We did."

"So what do you say?" asked Kaidan. "Are we good?"

"We're good," replied Shepard, nodding. "It was great to have you back on the _Normandy_."

"Thanks," said Kaidan, nodding. "I'm really glad you came by. Talking to you like this just reminds me of how much I like you… We're good together."

"Feel like we've cleared the air?"

"Yeah," replied Kaidan. "You know… I'm not sure I've been wrong about Cerberus, but… I've been wrong about you." Shepard sighed, feeling the pressure of that topic seem to fly away.

"You heard anything from your family?" asked Shepard. "Are they safe?"

"My parents live in Vancouver…" said Kaidan. "But Dad's family runs an orchard in the interior. They were headed out there on the shuttle on the day of the attack."

"Heard from them?"

"No…" groaned Kaidan. "Not yet… But I hope… Well, I'm hoping Dad's UNSC training has kept him safe. Must be killing them not knowing where I am." He released a deep sigh and leaned back on his bed. "I should let you get back to the _Normandy_. Wish I could come with you."

"You sure you want right back in the thick of it?" asked Shepard, looking concerned. "You've been injured…"

"Are you kidding?" said Kaidan, raising his eyebrows. "I wanna kick King Ghidorah straight to Hell. Cerberus too. People who are near death say their lives flash before their eyes… well, my future flashed for me." There was a far-away look in his eyes, as if he was seeing something Shepard wasn't. "The anguish, the families, the children… It made me determined to live. I need to do something, Shepard… to save at least a few lives…"

"You'll get your chance, Kaidan," Shepard said, gently stroking a hand along her stricken comrade's cheek. "Right now, you just take care of yourself. We need you at a hundred percent."

"Will do," Kaidan replied, some of his old strength showing once again. "Thanks for coming by."

"Anytime, Kaidan," said Shepard, rising from her chair and heading back towards the door. She knew that soon she would be thrown back into the fight, and she still had the matter of the impending war summit to attend to, but knowing that Kaidan would be alright, and that the air between them was clear, seemed to give her renewed strength.

0

_**1244, November 9, 2560 (Military Time)\Classified Location**_

At long last, the day of the war summit had arrived. All concerned in it had found a free moment to finally meet and begin the initial co-ordination attempts. Of course, there was also the small matter of trying to persuade the Krogans to help liberate Palaven, and it was with a great deal of trepidation that Shepard had Joker set the _Normandy_ down in one of the _Shi'lithra_'s cavernous hangars. She saw that the _Serenity_ was also there, her crew mingling and doubtless as curious as to the proceedings as others would be. The ramp leading into the shuttle bay lowered, and all of the _Normandy_ crew stepped out into the hangar, the black floor rippling under their footsteps as though it was made of water. While Shepard, Garrus, Liara, EDI and Joker had seen the _Shi'lithra_ before, Vega and most of the crew were completely in the dark, and now they were positively agog at the sights they were seeing.

"Not that I'm complaining," said Vega, looking as if he was about to faint, "but I'd feel safer if we were flyin' around in this ship."

"I will take that comment into account, Mr. Vega," said EDI, her robotic body helping Joker down the ramp. Joker, for his part, just shook his head.

"It looks flashy, sure," he said, "but where's the heart? For all their know-how, I bet the Precursors never invented leather seats."

"This thing always looked like it could punch a hole in the galactic core," Garrus chimed in, sounding both amused and concerned. "I may need to check that the weapons are properly calibrated."

"EDI," said Joker, smirking. "You owe me 200 credits."

"I do not recall placing a bet with you that involved Garrus' primary concerns," said EDI.

"Relax, EDI," said Dr. Chakwas, failing to suppress a smile herself and running a hand through her silver-grey hair. "Jeff's just teasing you."

"I see," said EDI, though she sounded like she didn't at all.

"Alright, everyone," called Shepard, "take five. I don't think the Blitzardi will let anyone leave this hangar, but you've got some downtime. I can't think of anywhere safer in the galaxy right now than this ship, so get some rest. I'll be back as quickly as I can."

"Take your time, Lola," said Vega, with a cheeky grin.

Alan watched as Shepard began to walk across the hangar with a sense of trepidation. He couldn't help but think that it would be a miracle if Shepard or Kedzuel or anybody got the different races to co-operate. He had of course been briefed on the situation, and he was constantly under the impression that someone in that meeting room was going to end up tearing out a bulkhead. What distracted him from these thoughts was when he saw Rachel peering over at one of the _Normandy_ crew; it was a woman with long black hair, wearing an extremely short dress that seemed designed to show off her breasts, and a face that looked like it had definitely seen cosmetic tinkering at some point.

"I just wanna go and get her autograph!" she was saying almost breathlessly with an oddly wistful look. "Diana Allers has so much style and class. I wish I could afford to look even half as good as she does…"

"Well, if you ask me," Emily Wong replied in a rather sniffy tone, "she has as much 'class' as a second-rate act in Afterlife. I'm sure nobody on Battlespace hired her for her journalistic skills or charisma…"

Rachel looked utterly scandalised, but José quickly intervened.

"Hey, let's not go havin' a cat-fight here," he said, holding Rachel's shoulders. "Mi amor, if I didn't think you were the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, you think I would have married you?"

Rachel paused at this, then blushed. She couldn't help smiling at her husband's attempt to defuse the situation, and her eyes peered into his.

"Still," she replied, "wouldn't mind it if you bought me a pretty dress sometime."

"I'll give you some pointers on where to look," Nicole chimed in with a grin.

Now it was José's turn to blush and look awkward. Anybody who knew José knew that he was a pretty poor judge of women's fashion. Alan couldn't help smirking himself. Part of him couldn't believe that his crew were talking about things like this when the galaxy was on the verge of extinction, with no prospect for anyone but a horrible death. On the other hand, moments like this helped to ease the tension, remind him that things hadn't gone entirely sour just yet, and that there was still something worth fighting for.

"You ready, Alan?" asked Shepard as she approached. Alan shook himself, trying to regain a more professional composure. "President Knight wants you in there as well."

"God alone knows why," Alan shrugged. "He knows full well I've got all the political skill of a comatose llama."

"Something tells me he doesn't want you there for your diplomatic skills," said Shepard. "I'm willing to bet you'd better be ready in case things turn ugly."

"As they're prone to do," sighed Alan, shaking himself. "I'm as ready as I can be, I suppose, considering that we're about to try and pull off the impossible in that room."

Shepard didn't answer, but Alan noticed a look of unease on her face that said more than words ever could. It was then that they were approached by a figure who was very familiar to Alan. He looked like a Kethosi, but unlike Kedzuel and most of the other Kethosi on the ship his skin was a deep forest green. He beamed at Alan as he approached, and wrapped Alan up in one arm as if embracing a brother.

"Alan!" he said jovially as Alan returned the embrace. "So good to see you again!"

"The feeling's mutual, Megellan," said Alan, grinning as they parted. The Lengodo Kethosi known as Megellan J'rasai then turned to look at Shepard, and bent over in a graceful bow.

"Commander Shepard," he said warmly. "It's so good to see you again too."

"Thank you, sir," replied Shepard, giving him a salute.

"No need for formalities, Shepard," Megellan said, holding up a hand. "I'm just plain old Megellan."

"Commissioner!" Liara's voice suddenly called, and Shepard turned to see her Asari companion run up to them. She stopped just short of Megellan, quite out of breath. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Same to you, Dr. T'Soni," said Megellan, bowing before her.

"Sorry if I interrupted," Liara panted, "but I just hoped you could pass on a message. Could you tell Kedzuel that I'd like to speak with him later?"

"Yes, of course," replied Megellan, smiling, before turning back to Alan and Shepard. "Now that everybody's here, we'd better get to the summit. I hate to rush you, but we've lost enough time already just getting these people here. We can't afford for them to spend the whole meeting arguing." He turned to the rest of the _Serenity_ crew for a moment. "The rest of you are free to roam the hangar, but no further. You may remember just how big this ship is-"

"86 kilometres long," Gillian chimed in. "37.8 kilometres wide and 55.2 kilometres high."

"Thank you, Ms. Grayson," said Megellan. "So we don't want to end up spending the rest of the war looking for stray crew members in the bowels of the ship." He beckoned Alan and Shepard closer to them, his arms outreached. "Everyone else has been gathered in our conference room for a while now. We might as well take the quick path. We can have a chat afterwards, once we've got the awkwardness out of the way."

Understanding instantly, Alan took a firm hold of Megellan's right claw and held his arm out to Shepard. The Commander was hesitant at first, before she took a deep breath and held both Alan's and Megellan's free claws.

"Let's just hope we don't end up starting another war…" she breathed.

All of a sudden there was a brief flash, and Alan felt a tugging sensation all over him, like he was being squeezed into a space that was far too small for him. As quickly as it came, however, the feeling passed, and as Alan let go of Shepard's and Megellan's hands he found himself in an entirely different part of the _Shi'lithra_. To Alan's enormous surprise, he found that he was standing on a wooden balcony, attached to an enormous wooden mansion. The architecture was reminiscent of ancient Japanese palaces, made of wood and stone, complete with sliding doors. One of these was in front of Alan, and upon touching it he realised that it was made out of rice paper. Looking behind him, steps from the balcony led down into an onsen - a hot spring surrounded by rocks, littered with hanging plants and wooden walkways. Beyond that was a forest full of the pale blossoms of cherry trees, and somewhere above the palace came the sound of a distant waterfall cascading into babbling brooks. The whole building looked like it was built out of the side of a tall hill and the trees that grew around it. Alan could scarcely believe his eyes, while Megellan smiled.

"Impressive, isn't it?" he chimed.

"I…" Alan breathed, spellbound. "I knew Technomancy could do stuff like this – I remember seeing Malcho's pocket dimension. I just never expected to see this on a warship!"

"Rather like how many wouldn't expect such a classic-looking dining room on board _Serenity_," chuckled Megellan. "Though we have our reasons for such a naturalistic look. We made such a mess of the ecological system of our homeworld in the name of 'progress' that we knew we had to get back to nature." His light mood seemed to sour when he looked up, and saw that the sky was grey and overcast, thunder rumbling from some distance away. "Though judging by those clouds I would say the mood in that conference room has turned sour."

He turned and slid open the door to the conference room that was being used for the War Council. The chamber was a long one, reminiscent of the great hall in a Japanese palace, with wooden supports and walls made of rice paper, with one wall displaying an indoor waterfall, the walls lined with vines. The room wasn't completely devoid of technology, for one wall had a holographic screen set up before it, showing a view of the few gathered vessels outside the ship. Other such displays showed different charts, each showing a different cluster and reporting the movements of the Reapers and potential allied forces within them, while in the corner of the room was a QEC array. In the centre of the room was a large low table, with a map of the entire galaxy floating above it, covered in diagrams and holographic annotations. The table had low cushions around it, and here and there small teacups had been placed on it, though the tea seemed to have gone largely abandoned.

Gathered around the table were the representatives of the races attending the summit. Kedzuel, Kiryuu and Hackett were all there, as were the Arbiter and Primarch Victus. With them were two other figures, one Alan recognised and the other unfamiliar to him. One was a reptilian Krogan, hunchbacked and his features vaguely resembling a tortoise, wearing maroon combat armour and with a deep scar running down one side of his face and his red crown-like bone plate on top of his head. He was glaring at the unknown figure with his blazing red eyes. The new arrival was a Salarian, the skin on the wizened and wrinkled face perfectly matching the grey robe that covered the rest of the skinny frame. Everyone was now stood, looking tense, and from the expressions on everyone's faces, the meeting was not going well at all; the Krogan and Salarian in-particular has looks of pure hatred on their faces.

"The Krogan is in no position to make demands!" spat the Salarian in an elderly female voice. It shocked Alan when he realised that this was the first time he had ever seen a female of the species; usually they stayed on Sur'Kesh as the leaders of their people. It occurred to him that this was the Dalatrass that Shepard had mentioned; Dalatrass Linron.

"The 'Krogan' has a name: Urdnot Wrex," the Krogan Chieftain retorted. "And I'm not just some junkyard varren you unleash whenever you're in trouble!"

"Well, this turned bad quickly," sighed Megellan. "I'd better go see to the engines. I'll talk to you later, Alan." Before Alan could say another word the Lengodo had vanished. Sighing, both he and Shepard took their positions between Kedzuel and Wrex. The Krogan nodded at them both; he was an old friend of theirs, and had fought alongside Shepard in the battle against Sovereign. He let out a grunt, wishing he could see his allies again under better circumstances.

"I've got my own problems," he continued, pointing a stubby finger over the Krogan DMZ cluster on the galaxy map. "You see that point right there? The Reapers made landfall on Tuckanka around the same time they did on Palaven." He turned to look at Victus with a venomous look in his eye. "So why should I care if a few Turians go extinct?"

Victus said nothing, but his eagle-like eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously. Kedzuel, on the other hand, looked utterly furious.

"You swore to me once that your people would come to our aid when the time came," the Blitzardi snarled. "Now that time has come; we are at war with an enemy that is more than capable of exterminating all life, that has perpetuated their Cycle of Extinction for countless millennia, and you choose this moment to try to blackmail the entire galaxy?!" Wrex turned to look at the Precursor Emperor, his anger fading and being replaced by a look of regret.

"My pact still stands," he said. "I have every intention of helping to kick the Reapers' sorry asses. What did ya think I'd been trying to tell my people to get ready for for nearly three months?" He sighed, peering at the galaxy map. "I tried… I really tried to get 'em motivated, get 'em ready to fight for everyone in the galaxy. They ain't listenin', though. They've given up. In a few generations we'll be gone, and that's if the Reapers don't wipe us out first, so they don't see the point of fightin' for a galaxy that hates 'em. They need somethin' huge to give 'em the kick up the ass they need, somethin' worth fightin' for." He peered around at everyone, the Dalatrass in-particular. "They need nothing less than a cure for the genophage."

For a moment, there was an awkward silence. The genophage was the engineered sterility plague that had been deployed against the Krogans, in order to demoralise them and ensure that only one in a thousand Krogan young survived at birth. As a result the Krogans were a dying race, a side-effect of which was that Krogan culture was one of an all-encompassing defeatism, focused on glorifying pointless violence instead of trying to rebuild their race. Wrex was an exception to this, but even under his leadership the Krogans still faced resentment from the rest of the galaxy. The Dalatrass looked horrified, then furious.

"Absolutely not!" she hissed, waving a hand dismissively. "The genophage is non-negotiable!"

"Why are you so opposed to the idea, Dalatrass?" asked Hackett.

"Because my people uplifted the Krogans," replied Linron. "We know them best."

"You mean you used us!" yelled Wrex, with such viciousness that at first Alan though he was going to launch himself across the table. "To fight a war you couldn't win! It wasn't the Salarians, the Asari, the Turians, or even the Sangheili that stopped the Rachni! It was Krogan blood that turned the tide!"

"And after you ceased to be useful you tried to conquer the galaxy!" the Dalatrass shouted back with equal venom. "The genophage was the only way to keep your… 'urges' in check!"

"Dalatrass," barked Victus, firmly but with more restraint than Wrex. "You may not like him, but Wrex is right. Insulting him won't change that."

"I won't apologise for speaking the truth!" snarled Linron. "We uplifted the Krogans to do one thing: wage war. It's all they know because it's all we wanted them to know."

"Your people should have thought the matter through, then," replied Kiryuu, his arms folded and looking disgusted. "Was it really a surprise that the Krogans revolted? You uplifted them before they could develop the maturity to use the gifts you gave them responsibly!"

"That's precisely my point," replied Linron in an exasperated tone. "We made a rash decision. We turned to the Krogans in desperation. It's the same mistake you're about to make today. No good can come from curing the genophage."

"The Krogans have paid for their mistakes," said Shepard, shaking her head. "The genophage has gone on long enough."

"One thousand, four hundred and seventy-six years, if you're keeping track," said Wrex in a grim tone.

"It was a thousand years of peace free from these… brutes!" the Dalatrass spat.

"Enough!" Otto suddenly yelled, thumping his fist against the table. He had been quiet so far, listening to the arguments, and Alan had seen his expression growing darker and darker. Now the limits of his patience had been reached. Outside, the thunder seemed to have gotten louder. The Sangheili turned to the Krogan.

"Wrex," he said, "I sympathise entirely with the plight of your people; I really do. The Sangheili people know what it is like to live with collective guilt. Every day, every one of us has to walk with the weight on our shoulders that we once belonged to a faction of beings who wanted nothing more than to see humanity vanish from the face of the galaxy. Had we not learned the truth behind the Covenant, we would still be gladly following those creatures down their genocidal path. I understand what it means to seek redemption for the crimes of your people, and I believe that no being is beyond hope if they truly seek to atone." He shook his head, his tone becoming more firm. "However, as painful as I'm sure it will be to hear this, whether or not your people deserve a cure is academic at this point."

"The Arbiter is right," Victus chimed in. "It would take years to formulate and distribute such a cure, and we don't have that amount of time."

Wrex had listened to both of them, and at first Alan thought another shouting match was due. However, Wrex appeared strangely calm, his lips even forming into a confident smirk.

"My information says otherwise," he said. He reached into a pocket in his armour and produced a small data chip, turning to Kedzuel. "Any way you can display this for all the room to see?"

"What is it?" asked Kedzuel.

"Something to show that my request ain't beyond reason," he said. He shot a nasty sneer at Linron, whose eyes narrowed.

Kedzuel sent some of the fine Technomantic cords towards the chip. The cords extended, stretching out of the chip and forming what looked like a holographic display above the table.

"A Salarian scientist, Maelon, grew a conscience," said Wrex, as video footage began to play on the Technomantic monitor, showing only various pieces of scientific equipment. "He was on my planet testing a cure on our females."

"I remember," said Shepard, her own face now looking disgusted. "His methods were barbaric."

"True," grunted Wrex, "which was why I refused to assist him. I'm glad you stopped him, otherwise we'd have had Clan Weyrloc runnin' things, and they weren't as friendly as we are in Clan Urdnot. But what you didn't know is that other females survived his experiments." The footage was clearly taken from a first-person viewpoint, as the camera moved amongst the equipment, eventually stopping before a series of what looked like containment cells, with one wall completely clear for observation. On the other side of the glass Alan could make out figures moving, each with distinctly Krogan outlines.

"So the Dalatrass here sent in a team to clean up the whole mess… and take them prisoner," Wrex finished. Looking at the Dalatrass, Alan saw that she had gone as white as a sheet.

"Where did you get this?" she hissed. "It could be a fabrication!"

"If it was, I would have known it," said Kedzuel, looking at Linron with a cold expression. "There's no trace of forgery in this file." He turned to look at Wrex. "You've got a very good friend somewhere among the Salarian people, Urdnot Wrex."

"Dalatrass, is this true?" asked Victus, as the display faded and Kedzuel pocketed the data chip for himself. Linron folded her arms, showing no signs of remorse or panic at her secret being discovered.

"How will curing the genophage benefit my people?" she hissed.

"How long do you think you'll last alone against the Reapers?" asked Hackett, maintaining his calm, professional demeanour, which somehow made him look more dangerous than if he had shouted. "Because if you don't help, that's how it will end up."

"And I'll be the last friendly Turian you ever see," snarled Victus.

"What's it going to be?" added Kiryuu. All eyes were now on the Salarian, and she peered into each face, looking for any sign of support. Finding none, she sighed and buried a head in her hand.

"The females are being kept at one of our STG bases on Sur'Kesh," she moaned. Immediately Shepard and Alan moved across to Wrex. "But I warn you!" Linron suddenly ranted, looking at everyone in the chamber. "The consequences of this will be felt for centuries to come!"

"Let's go get them," said Wrex to Shepard, completely ignoring the Salarian.

"You're not setting foot on Sur'Kesh!" Linron ranted. "This will take time to-"

"It happens now," Otto interrupted, his mandibles quivering dangerously. "As a Council Spectre, Commander Shepard can oversee the exchange."

"We're going," Shepard stated in that decisive tone of hers, the tone that said there was nothing more that needed to be said on the subject.

"This meeting is adjourned," added Kedzuel. "Commander, you have work to do, and the sooner you get it done the better." With that, everyone began to head towards the door, but Linron remained, quaking with fury.

"I won't forget this, Emperor!" she barked. "A bully has few friends when he needs them the most!" At this, Kedzuel froze, and for a moment Alan thought he was going to spring at her. Instead, he turned slowly and deliberately, the bright cyan eyes now seeming to penetrate the Dalatrass' very soul.

"Since you seem to think insults are a valid form of political discourse," he said coldly, his fist clenching, "I will say this to you. I have studied Earth's history, and I learned that the humans burned witches like you in the Middle Ages. You may want to keep that in mind."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode out into the onsen, leaving Linron at a complete loss for words.

0

"Sounds like it went better than I'd expected," said Megellan, after Alan had met him back in the hangar and told him what had happened. "I thought that we'd have to mop what was left of the leaders off the walls." He sighed, folding his arms and looking over towards Shepard and Wrex, who were across the hangar and preparing for the mission to Sur'Kesh. He also noticed that Kedzuel was there, and had taken Liara off to one side. "Wrex's 'request' complicates things, though. I hate to say it, but it's times like this where the Ultimatum has its uses."

"That wouldn't have gone down well with any of them," said Alan. "Things are already on the edge as it is; I don't expect the Salarians to be supporting us in the fight after this."

"They can't afford to take on the Reapers by themselves," said Megellan. "We can only hope that they're not stubborn enough to forget that." He turned to look back up at the _Serenity_, shaking his head. "Anyway, let's move on to less depressing topics. How's she holding up?"

"No major disasters so far," said Alan. "We've had to get some upgrades though. Telek's engineers managed to get a stealth unit working on the ship; we can hide our heat emissions for a while now, so we should have a better chance of not being caught by the Reapers. It had to be done; it's just not safe out there without one now."

As they spoke, Rachel and Gillian emerged from the ship, walking down the cargo ramp as everyone else walked about, getting ready for departure. To everyone's surprise, Gillian was actually smiling; it usually took her far longer than this to warm to new people.

"You two look like you're getting along," said Alan as the two women approached him.

"Gillian's such a dear!" Rachel said. "She was asking me all sorts of questions about _Serenity_; I couldn't resist giving her a more thorough tour and telling her how everything worked. I was surprised that she knew about all the little smuggler's hidey-holes, though; even I hadn't found all of them!"

"She's a beautiful ship," Gillian chimed in. "I wanted to fly in her from the moment I saw her. I want to show her to my father; he likes seeing different ships."

Alan looked at Megellan awkwardly, and as Rachel and Gillian turned away again, he leaned in closer to the Lengodo.

"Are you sure there's nothing in the Array about where her father is?" he asked in a low whisper. "His name's Paul Grayson. Not only would I rather Gillian found him, but he's ex-Cerberus; we could use any intel he can give us. Gillian's tried looking for him in the Array, but with no luck." Megellan paused for a moment, but only shook his head, causing Alan's own face to fall.

"It's so strange," said Megellan. "There's no record of his activities from the time that he left Gillian with the Migrant Fleet. I assume that he's corrupted his own file in the Array to prevent others from finding him, or at least he had a Technomancer do it for him. If he had passed away he would have returned there, so I can only assume this means he's still alive somewhere."

"Let's hope so," said Alan. "When you said he'd be in the Array, you mean…"

"Remember what I said to you before I came back to the _Shi'lithra_?" asked Megellan. "About how the Array works, how all of us are a piece of her and return to her when we pass on?"

Alan nodded. "I get it," he said, vividly remembering how, not long ago, Megellan had spelled out what exactly the Array was to him, something he was still trying to get his head around as it had sounded so unbelievable. "Well, for now let's take Paul Grayson's absence from the Array as a good sign."

Just then, Shepard approached them, along with a dark-skinned, black-haired woman who Alan didn't recognise. She was clearly a member of the _Normandy_ crew, but Alan had not seen her before; the only ones he'd recognised outside of Shepard's strike team were Joker, Doctor Chakwas, Chief Engineer Geoffrey Adams and the two ex-Cerberus engineers Gabriella Daniels and Kevin Donnelly.

"Is this a bad time, Alan?" asked Shepard.

"No, not at all," Alan shrugged. "What's happened now?"

"We've got a job for you while we're on Sur'Kesh," said Shepard, turning to the young woman with her. "This is my XO, Samantha Traynor. Samantha, why don't you tell Captain Tyler what you told me?" The XO looked positively terrified at the prospect, but in the end she stepped forward to shake Alan's hand.

"Captain Tyler," she stammered, speaking in a very posh English accent like a BBC newsreader. "I first just wanted to say that it's a real honour to meet you. I've read about all of your exploits – well, the ones they make public, anyway."

"Uh, thanks," Alan stammered, looking a little flustered. He was not used to receiving praise for his work, especially as it was supposed to be covert. However, the Fleet Shadow of Fury had become famous since the Battle of the Citadel, so there was little he could do about it. "So what can I do for you?"

"I found something while scanning UNSC channels just now," said Traynor, bringing up her Omni-Tool and projecting a screen showing what looked to Alan like a series of dots and dashes. He quickly realised it was Morse code, perhaps the only form of transmission that was still possible on regular bandwidths. "Grissom Academy is requesting help. The Reaper invasion front will hit them soon."

Alan remembered that Grissom Academy was a school for gifted psionic students. They had at one time being instructed to use biotic amplifiers developed by Omak-Argon, in an attempt to bring them more in line with Asari biotics. However, when the true nature of the Element Zero that powered biotics was revealed, any attempts to use it were abandoned, though those who had already had amps fitted were stuck with them due to just how extensive the modifications were. With a start, Alan looked towards the _Serenity_, remembering that Grissom Academy was also Gillian's old school.

"I would've thought the war would close most schools," he said, shaking his head.

"Grissom Academy is more specialised than a normal school," Traynor explained. "It's home to some of the smartest students humanity has to offer. Their Ascension Program is the best training facility in the galaxy for human psionics, and they're also researching ways of safely removing biotic amps from human bodies. That was something Emperor Kedzuel was very insistent on, and given what we know about biotics now I can see why."

"I sent a young man named David Archer there a couple of months ago," Shepard chimed in. "I was as surprised as you are to learn they're still open."

"Some of their work has UNSC support," said Traynor. "That might be why they stayed."

"I can see where this going," said Alan, placing his chin on a knuckle. "You want me to look into this while you're on Sur'Kesh." He nodded. "You don't even need to ask. What more can you tell me?"

"A Turian evac transport responded to their distress call," said Traynor, "so normally I'd say we don't need to do anything." She pressed some hard-light buttons on the Omni-Tool and brought up another schematic of a communication bandwidth. "But something sounded off in the Turian signal. I had EDI perform an analysis; it's fake. EDI thinks it's Cerberus. She said that the faked Turian signal was similar to one that lured both you and Commander Shepard to a… Collector ship?" She sounded puzzled by this.

"Long story," said Alan. He remembered all-too-well how the Illusive Man, in an effort to obtain more data about the Collectors, had lured Shepard straight into a trap made by the Reaper agents. Alan himself had also followed the signal, knowing it was fake but seeing no other options for gathering the data. The fact that he had not told Shepard about this was one that had almost driven a wedge between the two crews.

"In any event," Traynor continued, "whoever faked the Turian signal wants us to think that Grissom Academy's being evacuated. But I believe they're still in danger."

"Good catch," said Alan, nodding in approval. "Looks like you're earning your keep on the _Normandy_."

"If this really is Cerberus," stammered Traynor, starting to blush a little, "hopefully this operation is something worth investigating. It could be simple disinformation…"

"Traynor," Alan cut in. "Good catch."

"Thank you, Captain," said Traynor, now blushing an even brighter shade of red. Before Alan could say another word, Traynor had spun around and was now walking quickly back towards the _Normandy_.

"Not used to receiving compliments, is she?" Alan asked Shepard, looking bemused. "I thought I was bad at that…" He shook himself and turned back to Shepard. "I'd better get going then."

"Me too," nodded Shepard. "We'll rendezvous back on the _Shi'lithra_ after I've grabbed the Krogan females. We're gonna keep it simple; land, grab them and get off before anyone has a chance to change their minds. Kedzuel's going to move the fleet towards the Krogan DMZ, so we're not gonna have to travel too far. Good luck." With that, she raced back towards the _Normandy_, while Alan turned to face Megellan, who had listened to the conversations with a look of deep thought.

"Well," said Alan. "It's been good seeing you again, mate. You sure you can't come with us?"

"Wish I could," sighed Megellan, "but Kedzuel tells me we've almost finished reconstructing the other battle chariots. I'll need to be here to give them all a thorough shakedown when we're done." He shook Alan's claw, now looking at him with great concern. "Be careful, Alan; don't under-estimate Cerberus."

As Alan headed to the _Serenity_, Shepard reached the foot of the _Normandy_'s cargo ramp. Most of the crew were back on board. She looked over at Liara, who seemed to be saying her farewells to Kedzuel and coming back to the ship.

"I still don't trust a word the Salarians say," Wrex grunted. He was in the process of checking the large Claymore shotgun he had packed with a grim look in his eye.

"I know it's hard," said Shepard gently, "but try to keep your cool on this one."

"These females are the best and possibly last hope for my people," Wrex retorted. "I'm not gonna let the Salarians or the Reapers snuff it out."

"It'll be fine, Wrex," said Liara, approaching him with the demeanour of a concerned mother. "You've waited long enough for this day; even though things look worse than ever, hope for your people still survives. We're with you every step of the way."

Wrex let out a soft rumble, his eyes closed. Liara's words seemed to have had the desired effect, as he looked much calmer and even managed to smile at the Asari.

"I appreciate it, Liara," he said. "I'm glad you're coming with us on this. It means a lot."

It was then that Garrus approached them, clearing his throat. Wrex turned his head to look at him.

"I suppose you can come along too, Garrus," the Krogan said, with a sly grin. "If things turn ugly, I may need someone to draw fire off me."

"I figured you'd gone soft on your throne," Garrus replied with equal snark, "and forgotten how to shoot a gun."

The two of them continued to trash-talk each other as they walked up the ramp. Shepard sighed as she followed; as uncertain as things were now, it was somehow comforting to her to know that some things never changed.


	8. Class Dismissed

**Class Dismissed**

Two hours later, the _Serenity_ was en-route to Grissom Academy, deep in the Petra Nebula. It wasn't long before the crew's destination approached. The school itself hung near the planet Elysium, and the shape vaguely resembled a Christian cross. Alan stood on the bridge of the ship, Call sat in the pilot's seat with her fingers firmly clenched on the control column. The ship's new stealth modifications had helped them reach the academy without alerting Cerberus or any nearby Reaper patrols, but upon approaching the station Call immediately noticed a problem.

"We've got a Cerberus cruiser there," she said, shaking her head, "with about a dozen fighters on blockade duty. We can't get any closer without them seeing us, and there're too many for us to take in a straight-up fight. They must want this place really bad." She then looked down at her control console, noticing that there was a light blinking. "That's weird… I'm getting an incoming transmission on the secure short-wave; about the only thing the normal comm. system's good for these days. They must be trying to get a message out without alerting Cerberus."

"Let's hear it," said Alan, his arms folded. Call patched the call through.

"_To any UNSC vessels in the area,"_ an older woman's voice said, _"this is Kahlee Sanders, director of Grissom Academy. We need immediate assistance. Cerberus is attacking the facility; they're after my students!"_

"This is Alan Tyler of the _Serenity_," said Alan in reply. "We read you, but we're blocked on a direct approach."

"_I know,"_ sighed Kahlee. _"They've taken control of our docking bays."_

"Any alternatives?"

"_There's an auxiliary cargo port I could probably open,"_ replied Kahlee.

"Alright," said Alan, nodding, a plan quickly forming in his head. "We'll come in by shuttle and get your students out of there." Cutting the transmission, he turned to Call. "Can you give us a diversion and draw those fighters away?" Call looked uneasy, but in the end she agreed.

"I'll try, Captain," she said, nodding bravely. "_Serenity_'s no combat ship, but she at least makes speedy getaways." As she steered the cargo vessel towards the academy, Alan activated the intercom.

"Attention all hands," he said. "We're gonna hit Grissom Academy. Call's gonna divert their blockade while we take a shuttle and sneak in the back. Nicole, you're with me. Rachel, you're flying Shuttle One; I'll send the trajectory to your commlink. José and Dorva, I want you both up here on the guns. Get ready; we're going in fast!" He hung up and turned, smiling confidently at Call. "She's all yours."

Leaving the bridge, Alan dashed to the gantries above the cargo bay, running to the door that led to Shuttle One. Inside the small, empty vessel, he found Nicole strapping on her Spartan armour, while Rachel was at the controls, preparing the ship for launch. As he checked his weapons and sat himself down, regretting that he didn't have time to strap on his armour, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching the vessel. The biggest shock came when he found out that the footsteps belonged to Gillian, and his alarm increased even further when she sat down beside him and began to strap herself into a chair.

"What do you think you're doing?" he said firmly.

"I'm going with you," Gillian replied simply, in that familiar monotone.

"No, you're not!" barked Alan. "We're flying straight towards Cerberus, and they won't be happy when they realise we're here! I can't let you go somewhere that's so dangerous!"

Gillian turned her head to look at him. Despite the blank expression on her face, there was a fire in Gillian's eyes that he had never noticed before. Clearly this was a sore topic for her.

"Grissom Academy was my home," she said, her voice monotone but now with an uncharacteristic firmness to it. "I knew a lot of the students and teachers. I have to help them! Besides, you have never been to Grissom Academy. You will need someone who knows the layout." She paused for a moment. "That's why I'm going with you."

Alan opened his mouth to argue, but he found himself unable to come up with a convincing counter-argument. He had never seen Gillian so intense about anything; normally she just came across as a quiet observer. Now she wanted to be actively involved in the fight. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Alright," he said, sounding unhappy. "But stay close to me and Nicole, and keep your head down. This is a very bad idea, but if you insist…"

"You're not serious about this, Captain?!" said Nicole, looking shocked. "She's just a kid!"

"I've got no time to argue," said Alan, sounding defeated. "Besides, I'd rather not get on the bad side of a girl who could scatter my atoms to the opposite ends of the galaxy."

"Besides," said Rachel, as there was a sudden clunk and a soft whine as the engines started, "I've just detached the shuttle from _Serenity_. We can't take her back even if we wanted to. I've already locked on to that cargo port you sent me the course to." Alan sighed, checking his Technomantic whip one more time with a sense of great foreboding.

"Hang back until it's clear down there," he said to Rachel as, through the window, he spotted _Serenity_ go tearing full-speed towards the awaiting blockade. As he watched, he saw the ship zoom straight past the awaiting fighters. A number of them broke away and shot off in hot pursuit, laser cannons firing. However, _Serenity_ stayed ahead of them, and activated its fusion drive, propelling it forward at incredible speeds.

Not needing to be told to move, Rachel steered the shuttle towards the cargo port, nervous and alert, watching for any sign of Cerberus patrols.

"Keep the shuttle moving in this area," said Alan, standing up and getting ready to move. "We'll be out as quickly as we can."

"You got it, Captain," Rachel nodded. Alan turned to his companions as there was a loud banging noise coming from outside, as the shuttle was securely locked into place by the airlock. As soon as the pressure was normalised, they stepped out into a corridor. Alan and Nicole drew their weapons, while Gillian stood close to them, merely looking around her. Disconcertingly, there were signs of a firefight as the opposite door was riddled with blast burns.

"_Captain,"_ came Kahlee's voice through Alan's commlink, _"I'm locked in a server room around the corner. Cerberus troops are trying to get in."_ Approaching the door, Alan heard voices on the other side.

"Get ready!" an odd robotic voice said which gave Alan a chill. "I've almost got the door."

Alan motioned to Gillian, telling her to hide behind one of the columns in the corridor. The girl understood, and when the mutant was sure she was out of sight he nodded to Nicole. The two of them opened the door and swiftly gunned down the Cerberus troops on the other side, catching them completely off-guard. Alan moved ahead to the server room while Nicole went to fetch Gillian. The door to the server room was already partway open, and easily slid aside at Alan's touch.

"Sanders, we're clear," he said. "It's me."

Rising to her feet from behind a chair, shotgun in hand, Alan came face-to-face with Kahlee Sanders. There were signs of age on her face, her blond hair short and neatly-maintained and with the palest blue eyes Alan had ever seen. Upon seeing that it wasn't Cerberus, she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her gun.

"Thank God you got my call," she said, walking towards him. "Admiral Anderson's talked about you before. He said you're one of the best, and with Cerberus coming for my students I need the best."

"How many of you are there?" asked Alan.

"Fewer than twenty," replied Kahlee. "Most were sent home when word of the Reaper invasion spread. But a few volunteered to stay. Some are prototyping tech for the UNSC. Others are psions, and some of them are biotics we couldn't remove the amps from. They've been training for military operations, working together as psionic artillery."

"You said something about Admiral Anderson…" said Alan quietly, his curiosity about her connection with Anderson getting the better of him.

"Yes," Kahlee replied, nodding. "We met… God, what's it been… six years ago, when he was a Spectre candidate." Her face hardened as she spoke. "I was there when Saren betrayed him."

It was common knowledge in the UNSC that Anderson had been the first human to try for a Spectre position, but the Turian Spectre sent to evaluate him, Saren Arterius, had sabotaged his efforts somehow out of a hatred of humanity. That same Spectre had managed to get indoctrinated by Sovereign and had almost succeeded in activating the Citadel Relay; had he succeeded, he would have brought the entire Reaper armada to the galaxy immediately and wiped out the galactic leadership.

"David saved my life that day," Kahlee continued. "He's a good man."

"He was on Earth when the Reapers hit," said Alan. "He stayed behind to organise the resistance."

"I hadn't heard…" Kahlee breathed. "We've been cut off from most news. Is he alive?"

"Alive and fighting," said Alan. "The Precursors are keeping in contact with him."

"Good," said Kahlee, her expression brightening. "If we get out of here… Well, just tell him to stay alive."

"You can tell him yourself, Ms. Sanders," a voice suddenly said from behind Alan in a monotone. "We're all getting out of here."

Kahlee gasped when she turned and saw Gillian standing behind Alan, the girl actually managing to smile. Nicole was just behind her, watching the corridor for any signs of Cerberus. Kahlee's mouth fell open and she covered it with her hand, shakily sitting down in a chair near a computer console.

"Oh God…" she breathed. "Gillian!" Trembling, she turned to look at Alan. "What's she doing here with you?! I thought she was with the Migrant Fleet!"

"She came with us looking for her dad," Alan explained. "That bloke who was with her, Hendel Mitra… You knew him?"

"Yes…" Kahlee replied. "Is he alright?"

"He's still with the Quarians, as far as we know," said Alan. "When Gillian found out we were coming here, she insisted on tagging along." He paused for a moment, looking awkwardly between Gillian and Kahlee. "This place must have meant a lot to her."

"If only all of her time here was so happy…" Kahlee breathed, looking away from Alan with her eyes closed.

"What do you mean?" asked Nicole, listening from the doorway. Kahlee was about to answer but Alan held his claw up to silence her.

"We'll talk about that later," he said, looking more resolute. "For now, let's just concentrate on getting everyone out of here." He folded his arms. "You do realise a few months spent knocking over practice dummies can't prepare your students for war, right?"

"I know…" breathed Kahlee, still clearly in shock at seeing Gillian again. "But the UNSC needs every resource it can get, and our students are unique… resources." Her voice grew bolder. "They wanted to help. How could we say no with the entire galaxy falling apart?" It was then that the console near her started beeping, though the display only showed a fuzzy image.

"Hang on," she said, turning her attention to the console. "I've been trying to get communications working." Though no picture could be seen on any of the monitors, a voice did start to make itself heard amongst the static.

"_This is Froeberg!"_ a male voice said. _"There are students trapped in Orion Hall! Cerberus has boxed us in! They're closing fast!"_

"Damn it!" grunted Kahlee, slamming her palm down on the console.

"Orion Hall?" asked Alan, turning to Gillian.

"Back out the door and down the hallway," said Gillian, looking towards the right-hand side of the corridor.

"I can get the door open!" Kahlee chimed in.

"We'll bring them back here," said Alan, readying his weapon, "and we'll make a run for the shuttle."

"Thank you, Captain," said Kahlee, nodding, manning the console again. "I'll stay put. With luck, I can regain control of some of our systems."

Motioning for the others to follow him, Alan raced down the corridor and through the next door as it slid open. A hallway divided by a large glass screen lay before them, and as Alan watched he saw three Cerberus soldiers marching down the other corridor, dragging a screaming, flailing young man by his ankles. The soldiers pulled the unfortunate youth through a door, slamming it shut behind them. Feeling his blood begin to boil, Alan led the way through another door, spotting Cerberus' logo on the monitors above the doors.

"_Attention all students,"_ a cold voice said through the academy's PA system. _"Cerberus troops have taken control of this station. We have no desire to hurt you. Surrender, and you will not be harmed. Resist, and we can't guarantee your safety."_

Snarling, Alan opened the next door, which led into a wide common room. Ahead of him he could see two Cerberus soldiers stood before a localised shield, behind which was a young man pulling a tight face as he concentrated hard to keep the barrier from falling.

"Reily Bellarmine," one of the soldiers barked. "Drop the barrier, now!"

"Nobody's going to hurt you," the other soldier chimed in. "The file says we need you alive. But your sister? She's optional. You give us trouble, we'll find her."

Deciding that he'd heard enough, Alan fired two shots, cutting down one of the soldiers. The other was torn apart by a burst from Nicole's rifle.

"_We understand that you're scared,"_ the tannoy voice continued as Alan approached the boy, who lowered his shield with wide eyes. _"Your teachers have filled your heads with UNSC propaganda. But Cerberus can keep you safe. We're the only ones who can."_

"There may be more nearby," said Alan in a loud whisper. "Play dead until it's safe, then get to Kahlee Sanders at security."

"Okay," Reily replied, already kneeling down. "But my sister Seanne's out here somewhere too." As Alan moved across the common area, he grunted as the tannoy voice spoke again:

"_The UNSC has failed you. Earth has fallen. Fighting now only dishonours your family… your friends… You are the best and the brightest humanity has to offer. Cerberus can give you the tools you need. You need us, and we need you, if our work is to succeed."_

"Do you want me to silence the PA system?" asked Gillian.

"No," replied Alan, his voice showing his irritation. "We don't want to do anything to attract attention just yet. Now which way?"

Gillian pointed towards the other end of the chamber, now divided up into a number of smaller classrooms. Crossing through a door into another classroom, Alan heard gunfire coming from the other side.

"Watch the headshots!" a Cerberus soldier was yelling. "Orders are to take them alive!" The gunfire soon stopped. "Check the file. Who was it?"

"Honaker," his cohort replied. "Some kind of math genius. Low priority."

"Good," said the first soldier. "No loss. Next time, remember to check the file."

Unable to take anymore, Alan sprinted in and gunned down the Cerberus murderers. He vividly remembered Shepard's report on the Cerberus body found on Mars, and it sickened him to think that they had such a twisted fate planned for the students here. Looking up, he saw one of the cameras in the station was now following him. With a snarl, he blasted it.

"_There are UNSC soldiers on the station now,"_ the tannoy voice then spoke in a snotty manner. _"They claim they are here to help you. They cannot; Cerberus are the only ones who can help you."_

"Shut the fuck up…" Alan grumbled.

"_Holly Merizan?"_ the voice suddenly said as the trio emerged from the last classroom and into another common area. _"Can you hear us? We've found your mother and father. They're safe at a Cerberus sanctuary. Surrender, and you'll be able to see them again. But please; we can only help you if you help us."_

"Sanctuary?" asked Nicole. "Cerberus don't strike me as the type to open up shelters."

"We'll think about that later," said Alan. "Right now, let's just find that arsehole and silence him before he drives me out of my fucking mind." He rounded a corner and found a teenage girl kneeling on the floor, looking scared out of her mind.

"Stay back!" she yelled. "I'll… I'll…"

"Oh God, she's bleeding!" said Nicole, pointing at the way the girl was clutching her chest and running up to her. A small pool of red was forming right next to the girl as blood seeped out of an open gunshot wound. "Seanne, right?" the Spartan said in a quiet voice.

"How did you know my name?" the girl asked.

"We saved your brother," Nicole replied kindly as she applied the medicinal agent known as Medi-Gel onto the wounds, bandaging and cauterising them. "He's with Kahlee Sanders at security. Can you get to her?"

"Yeah," Seanne replied, nodding and the paleness of her face receding a little. "I just need to rest a minute. Thank you."

"Orion Hall is that way," Gillian then said, pointing towards a door at the end of a corridor behind them.

"_Captain,"_ Kahlee's voice said through the commlink. _"I just got an emergency message from the students in Orion Hall. One of our instructors is with them, but they can't hold out much longer. The good news is though that I've managed to get the PA system back under my control, at least."_ When she spoke again, her voice came out of the tannoy instead, speaking as Alan and his team moved down the corridor between a pair of rock gardens.

"_Students, if you can hear me, this is Kahlee Sanders. I am still alive, and help is coming. A UNSC team is here to rescue us. Stay safe. Get to me if you can, or send me a message if you need help. I'm at the security station near the room where we had Holly's birthday party."_

Relieved to hear a different voice on the PA system, Alan reached the door to Orion Hall. He and Nicole opened it and sprinted through, keeping low to the ground. Gillian trailed behind Nicole and crouched down beside her, behind a column in a higher chamber than what they had seen so far. Orion Hall was filled with Cerberus soldiers, all of their guns trained on the centre of the hall, while the upper office was covered by a kinetic barrier.

"Eat this!" a woman's voice shouted from the middle of the crowd of soldiers, and all of a sudden the soldiers were sent flying backwards, as if hit by an invisible battering ram. As they crumpled to the floor, Alan's eyes widened when he saw the woman stood there, wiping sweat from her brow and gesturing for a pair of teenagers to get clear. He had seen her only once before, but her appearance had changed radically. She resembled a biker, wearing a leather jacket over a heavily tattooed body, a set of leather straps acting like a bra, wearing slacks and large boots. Her hair only grew on the top of her head and down the back, where she had tied it back into a ponytail, with only stubble and more tattoos visible around the sides.

"Jack?!" Alan called, coming out from behind his shelter, eyes still wide with disbelief. He recognised the human psion from the _Normandy_; she had been part of the strike team that helped Shepard to defeat the Collectors. She turned to look in Alan's direction, her own face becoming a mask of confusion, recognising the mutant in turn.

"Tyler?!" she asked. However, before they could speak any more there was a crunching noise as a large mech tried to force its way into the hall. This Atlas-class robot was heavily armed and had a Cerberus trooper in the cockpit. Jack sprinted across the hall and threw up a psionic barrier, deflecting a shot that had been heading for another of the students. The mech pushed its way into the hall and raised itself to full height. Before it could get another shot off, Alan and Nicole opened fire, pinning it down.

"Everyone get down!" Jack called to the students as they scrambled for cover. "This thing's outta your league!"

Even as Alan and Nicole helped her to fight the mech, Alan was surprised by Jack's attitude. When he had met her, she had only seemed interested in looking out for herself. Now there was a passionate fire in her eyes as she used her psionics to send pieces of the Atlas flying everywhere. After several shots, Alan was able to penetrate the glass protecting the cockpit, and Nicole quickly followed up by throwing a grenade inside. The Cerberus soldier didn't even have time to curse before the explosion engulfed him, scattering the Atlas to every corner of the room. As the mech was destroyed, Jack immediately turned her attention to another squad of Cerberus troops that had run into the hall and opened fire. Her face contorted in pure rage, she reduced several Cerberus troops to little more than bloody smears, tossing them about like ragdolls.

When it was all over, Alan heard cheers and whoops coming from the students on the balcony, as Jack walked over to him, a large grin on her face. This was partly out of amusement at seeing Alan again, but also a side-effect of the mental conditioning she had been forced through, which caused her to feel euphoric during the act of committing murder. She had been a victim of Cerberus' experiments during her childhood, and Alan, having looked at her file after the Collector incident, wondered if this was now a form of therapy for her.

"Kahlee said she was putting out an SOS," she chuckled. "I had no idea the King of the Freaks would show up." As the exhausted students filed onto the ground level, Jack turned to them, her expression becoming more serious.

"Alright!" she barked. "Prangley, those fields were weak! Cerberus isn't gonna lie down outta pity like that girl you took to the prom!" The flustered-looking Prangley was given a friendly jostle by one of his classmates while Jack continued to bark out orders like a seasoned drill instructor. "Grab juice and an energy bar! We move in five!" Her expression growing more grim, she turned back to Alan. "Damnit…" she muttered. "How many times did I tell the Girl Scout not to trust Cerberus?!"

Alan knew that she was talking about Shepard, for their ideals had very much been at opposite ends of the spectrum at that point.

"You're not saying anything she hasn't told herself, Jack," Alan said sagely.

"Oh, she feels bad?" said Jack, with deep sarcasm in her voice. "Well, shit. I bet that's a big comfort to all the people Cerberus has killed! Why the hell isn't she here anyway?"

"She's got her own problems to deal with," replied Alan, shaking his head. "You know; the Reapers? The big demon from beyond all known reality? The fate of all of existence?"

"Charming as ever, I see," Nicole chimed in, for she too had met Jack before briefly.

"You here too, Nicole?" asked Jack. "Still hanging out with the ugly parade, I see." She nodded her head over at Alan before turning back to him. "We'll talk about the Reapers later. Right now, all I care about is getting my guys outta here."

"Your guys?" Alan asked, looking puzzled. He peered at the faces of the teenagers behind Jack, who seemed to be looking at her with a gaze of hero-worship.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jack chuckled, looking back at the students with an odd look of affection.

"Shepard passed on your file after the Collector incident," said Alan. "I can't think of anyone who'd care about these kids more."

"Well, I had some free time while Shepard was off in sing-sing," said Jack. "UNSC brass knew I'd helped her. They offered me this, and apparently the students responded well to my teaching style."

"The psychotic biotic!" Prangley chuckled.

"'I will destroy you!'" a female student chimed in with a grin. Apparently at one point that had been something of a catchphrase for Jack.

"Drink your juice, Rodriguez," replied Jack, shaking her head. "You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper!" As the students allowed themselves a chuckle, Alan heard a beeping coming from his commlink and raised it.

"_Captain!"_ said Rachel's voice. _"The Cerberus cruiser's coming back!"_

"How long have we got?" asked Alan.

"_Two minutes tops!"_ came Rachel's worried reply. _"After that, there's no way we'll get past them."_ Alan had to fight the urge to curse as he looked back towards the students, gulping down energy drinks and eating energy bars. Their psionic abilities burned their metabolism quickly. He sighed as he realised there was only one option available.

"Get out of here and back to _Serenity_," he said in a low voice. "We'll find another way off the station."

"_Roger that,"_ replied Rachel. _"Good luck!"_

"Tyler to Sanders," said Alan, switching frequencies as Rachel signed off. "The students are safe, but the shuttle's a no-go."

"_Understood,"_ said Kahlee with a deep sigh. _"I might know another way off the station. I've just regained station-wide camera access, and I know where we can find the Cerberus shuttles."_

"How does that help us?" asked Alan.

"_The cruiser won't auto-target friendly ships,"_ Kahlee explained. _"That'll give us a fighting chance to escape. Now that I've got the cameras back, I can give you a path that'll keep Cerberus from boxing you in. The fastest way is through the Atrium, but Cerberus has sealed the doors. You'll need to disable the magnetic locks."_

Alan was about to ask where the locks could be disabled, but as soon as Kahlee had finished her explanation, Gillian had pulled her Technomantic cords out of her head. Her eyes glowed a bright cyan blue and a triangular marking appeared on each cheek as she let the ghostly cords trail towards the door. They splintered and covered the door, and seconds later there was a loud clicking noise. The lights above the door turned from red to green, indicating that the door had unlocked.

"Damn…" Jack breathed, looking impressed as Gillian retracted the cords. "Wish you were one of my students, kid."

"_You should be able to force the doors open now,"_ said Kahlee. _"I'll go on ahead to the shuttles and get a pair ready to fly."_ As she signed off, Alan turned to Jack.

"I have to say, Jack," he said with a smile. "You look good."

"Yeah, well…" Jack said, smiling slightly. "Maybe some of Shepard's influence rubbed off on me. I never had a family, and these guys…" she paused, looking at the gathered students, who were now peering at Gillian with wide eyes. "Anyone screws with my students," Jack continued, her eyes narrowing, "and I will tear them apart."

"What's so valuable about your students?" asked Nicole. "Psionically, I mean."

"Well," said Jack, swelling with pride, "what's scarier than a pissed off psionic attacker? A whole bunch of 'em working together. It's like a psionic artillery strike; any asshole gets in our way, we rip 'em to shreds."

"Isn't that the kind of thing you wanted to destroy on Pragia?" Gillian suddenly asked. She was referring to the facility where Cerberus had tried to groom psionic kids like Jack into being living weapons.

"Who told you about that?" asked Jack, glaring at the teenager.

"She probably picked it up from the Array," said Alan. "You've worked with Technomancers before; you must have some idea how it works."

"Oh yeah," Jack shrugged. "The cheerleader never properly explained how it works, but I get what ya mean now." She leaned towards Gillian, who simply looked at Jack with mild curiosity.

"If the Array told you what Pragia was like," she said with a great deal of passion, clearly struggling to avoid exploding at the girl, "then you should know damn well it wasn't! Cerberus was torturing kids there! These guys are older, and they volunteered. And the only ones feeling any pain are the bad guys."

"So how are they handling the war?" asked Alan.

"How do you think?" said Jack in a low tone. "They're a bunch of teenagers. Until a month ago, their biggest concern was getting laid." At this, Alan motioned Jack off to one side, speaking in a low tone so as not to be overheard by the students.

"You don't think they're ready for war?" he asked.

"I don't think they have a choice," was Jack's reply.

"So all this talk about psionic artillery strikes…"

"It's great in theory," said Jack, sighing. "Maybe they'll get it together once they've seen some action."

"But…?" said Alan. From Jack's tone, he had the distinct feeling that she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him of the viability of the idea.

"They'd be better off as support," said Jack, looking defeated. "Put them in the back ranks, helping with barriers and shit. I don't know."

"Have you told them that?"

"No!" said Jack. "They need me to believe in them. I did pick up a few things listening to Shepard's damn speeches."

"We can talk it over with them when we get outta here," said Alan. "Let's just focus on staying alive right now."

Jack nodded, and the pair returned to the crowd. Everybody looked much more refreshed, and Nicole had finished reloading her weaponry. Alan knew that, if they were to reach the shuttles, they couldn't afford to waste any more time. Walking up to the doors, he saw that they were now slightly ajar, and slid open easily when he pushed them.

"Everyone, be ready!" he called. "We'll go in first and draw their fire!"

"We'll shadow you from the second level," Jack called back in reply, "and hit those fu… those guys from above." Alan had to supress a snort of laughter; it seemed that Jack was trying to tone down the bad language to set a good example for her students.

"Just time your shots and stay safe!" Alan bellowed.

"Alright," Jack barked. "I didn't bust my ass training you so you could die now. Keep low and pick your targets!"

All of a sudden everyone's Omni-Tools activated at the same time, and the same voice that had spoken through the PA system now spoke again. It looked like Cerberus had somehow managed to hack their equipment.

"_Students of Grissom Academy,"_ the voice was saying. _"The station is sealed. The UNSC soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully and you won't be harmed."_

"Shut it, asshole!" Jack barked, with a snort.

"_Damn it!"_ came Kahlee's voice through the PA system. _"They're messaging everyone! Students, switch your Omni-Tools to privacy mode so they can't track you!"_ The students did so, but now there was a look of great anxiety on their faces.

"What if…" the girl known as Rodriguez squeaked. "What if they're not lying?"

"You've already held your own against Cerberus," said Alan firmly. "You've been trained for this by one of the best!"

"Come on, Rodriguez," Jack hissed. "They're only askin' nicely because you scared 'em in that last fight. So take your balls outta your purse and kick some ass."

"Yes, ma'am," Rodriguez replied, standing up straighter.

"Let's go!" barked Alan. He and Nicole drew their weapons, and they, along with Gillian, headed down the corridor while Jack led her students to the upper level. As he led his team towards the Atrium, Alan suddenly felt a lot more confident; with Jack on their side, he was sure that Cerberus should be the ones running for their lives.

0

It was not often that Commander Shepard felt uncomfortable. The professional side of her knew better than that; even when things were at their most volatile, she had to stay calm and keep making decisions with a clear head. Her rank demanded it, not to mention the current situation. Her personal life was quite another matter, but even then she always did her best to stay calm and even-tempered at those times, try to be reasonable.

However, within a few minutes of landing at the Special Tasks Group base on the lush, tropical world of Sur'Kesh, Shepard had to admit that this was one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life. Wrex had not helped matters, of course, for even before the shuttle could land he had jumped out of it and nearly shot his way through a group of STG operatives, escalating an already volatile situation. Thankfully sanity had prevailed, though Wrex was not permitted to move deeper into the base to oversee the transfer. He satisfied himself by making rude and passive-aggressive comments to the soldiers standing guard over him, most of them relating to how he preferred Salarian livers to be cooked.

Everywhere Shepard went in the base, she could feel the dark Salarian eyes watching her every move. Overhearing conversations among them, she saw that the issue of curing the genophage was divisive among the Salarian people. Some disapproved of the whole idea, stating that it would undo everything they had tried to accomplish. Control was something they had long sought to maintain over the Krogan population; not so long ago they had released a modified version of the genophage onto Tuchanka when it had looked like the Krogans were building up a resistance to it. Others felt that curing the genophage would finally bring closure to the matter, and let the evolutionary process decide what happened from here on out rather than galactic politics. When it came to the battle against the Reapers, most were oddly silent; it was as if they were still trying to wrap their heads around the attack.

Not everyone was silent on the matter of supporting the Kethosi in the fight against the Reapers, however. Shepard had been unexpectedly reunited with Major Kirrahe, a veteran STG commander who had helped her to destroy Saren's cloning facility on Virmire two years ago. He still remembered Shepard and her companions vividly, and seemed thrilled to see them again, pointing out the irony that the Reapers had a way of bringing them all together. When their conversation was over, Kirrahe had taken Shepard to one side and spoken in a low tone.

"Tell Emperor Kedzuel," he had whispered, "that regardless of what the politicians decide, he can count on my support if he plans to take the fight to the Reapers. I'll spread the word among the STG, convince anyone that I can to join up, even if it means going through the back door." He smiled warmly and shook Shepard's hand. "Consider it my way of returning the favour you did for me on Virmire. It would be an honour to fight alongside you again."

As soon as the elevator they were now riding stopped, Shepard, Garrus and Liara stepped out into the laboratory beyond. It was exactly like what Wrex had shown them with the video footage; it was dark, with lights from control consoles being the only source of illumination, and a number of containment cells lined the walls. It was a large space, with a number of Salarian scientists rushing this way and that. The trio stepped out and looked around them, tense and alert.

"All specimens accounted for, sir," a soldier was saying to one of the scientists directly in front of them. As he stepped aside, Shepard nearly gasped when she recognised who the scientist was. The figure was wearing a red and white scientist's uniform, and had a prominent cross-shaped scar on one of his mottled brown cheeks. One of the two horns on the top of his head characteristic of the Salarian race was shorter than the other. He peered intently at Shepard with his large, dark eyes as he lowered his Omni-Tool.

"Shepard!" the scientist said, in his unmistakable clipped, reedy voice, beaming at them. "Excellent timing. Good to have you here." He stepped forward and shook Shepard's hand, the soldier still surprised by seeing someone she had not expected to see here in all places.

"Mordin?" she asked.

"Eyesight still sharp," Dr. Mordin Solus replied. "Surprise understandable. Hadn't expected to return to work."

"You're back with STG?" asked Garrus. Both he and Shepard had worked together with Mordin before, as the former STG scientist had proved instrumental in the defeat of the Collectors. He had also been responsible for deploying the modified version of the genophage; it was a dark deed that still haunted the scientist to this day.

"Special consultant," explained Mordin. "Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong." He then looked behind him, checking that no-one else was listening, before leaning conspiratorially towards Shepard.

"Helped female Krogan," he whispered. "Fed information to Clan Urdnot. Encouraged political pressure to free females."

"You must be Wrex's inside source…" muttered Shepard.

"Yes," Mordin hissed. "Can explain later. Security warnings not normal. Need to get offworld for sake of Krogan." He walked along the rows of containment cells, the others keeping pace. Liara chanced a glance into one of the containment areas, and to her horror she saw that it held several large, brutish creatures with faces that resembled that of crabs. She recognised them as part of the Yahg race, horrendously violent beings who had killed any who tried to contact them.

"I had hoped never to see one of those things again…" she muttered as Mordin continued to speak.

"Females had weakened immune systems," the Salarian was saying. "Side effect of Maelon's cure." He paused in front of another containment area, which rather disconcertingly was filled with several large body bags. "These didn't survive," he finished sadly.

"But what about Maelon's research?" asked Shepard. "I thought we saved it?"

"Indeed," replied Mordin. "Data saved, but not complete. Lacks crucial details to reconstruct cure, but still useful for synthesising from living tissue." He looked back at the bodies, his eyes closed and releasing a deep sigh. "Couldn't save them…"

"I'm sure you did everything you could, Mordin," said Shepard gently.

"Arrived too late," said Mordin, frowning, his face resolute. "Cannot delay now. One survivor, immune to genophage. Can synthesise cure from her tissue."

"She's still here?" asked Shepard, as she followed Mordin down a short flight of steps to another row of containment cells.

"Yes," replied Mordin. "Last hope for Krogan! If she dies, genophage cure…" He paused and sniffed sharply into his nostrils. "Problematic." He paused in front of one of the cells, pointing at it. "Please be careful; Krogan slow to trust."

Shepard carefully approached the cell. Strapped to an upright examination table, on the other side of a kinetic barrier, was a large Krogan figure. The female was wearing a robe that resembled a human burka, covering her from head to foot and leaving only her brown eyes visible. It was heavily patterned and coloured a dark blue and red. Though only the eyes could be seen, Shepard could see them peering at her with a great deal of apprehension.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the United Nations Space Command," the human introduced herself as.

"Are you here to kill me?" asked the Krogan female in a rather sardonic tone, her voice deep and grand, hinting at intelligence beyond her years and hard-earned wisdom.

"No," said Liara gently. "There's no need to be wary of us; we're here to help you."

"Urdnot Wrex and I are here to take you home," Shepard chimed in.

"Why?" asked the female apprehensively. "What am I to you?" Shepard wondered what had happened to make the female so nervous, but such a thing could also have been explained by the Krogan race's natural distrust of other species.

"Have the Salarians mistreated you?" she asked.

"Those were my sisters you saw back there," the Krogan replied bitterly. "They died in a lot of pain."

"Did the best we could," sighed Mordin.

"And now I know I'm the only one left," the Krogan spat. "That makes me dangerous to a lot of people. What about you, Commander Shepard? Why are you here?"

"You're the future of the Krogan race," said Shepard. "I'm fighting for that."

All of a sudden alarms sounded all over the laboratory. The already tense atmosphere now threatened to escalate into full-scale panic, the scientists' activities getting increasingly frenzied.

"Then I hope you brought an army," sighed the female.

"_Alert!"_ a voice said over the station's loudspeakers. _"Unidentified vessels have breached the perimeter!"_

"Give me an update!" one of the scientists barked.

"Outbound communications have been severed!" his colleague yelled. "We're cut off!"

"Secure all data to offsite location!" the first scientist commanded.

"What's happening?" Shepard asked one of the scientists, whose fingers were frantically whirling above the holographic controls to the Krogan's containment cell.

"We have multiple ships inbound!" the scientist replied. At that moment, Shepard heard a beeping from her Omni-Tool as someone tried to call her. She brought up the holographic screen and soon saw Wrex's grim face peering back at her.

_"Shepard!"_ he barked. _"Cerberus troops are attacking the base! Get the females out of there now!"_

"Only one survived, Wrex," said Shepard, shaking her head. "It might be safer down here."

"_What?!"_ roared Wrex, with a fury in his eyes the likes of which Shepard had never seen before. _"So the Salarians can kill her like the others?! No deal! If you still want this alliance, get her out of there!"_ On that unpleasant note, he hung up. Hardly daring to believe how reckless Wrex was being, Shepard turned back to the scientist.

"We're leaving," she said. "Release the female."

"I can't," replied the scientist nervously. "Protocol states that during lockdown no specimen-" Suddenly he shuddered violently as an electrical current ran through his body, knocking him senseless. Behind him, Mordin was stood with his Omni-Tool raised; he had used it to send a sudden electrical surge through the scientist's body, stunning him.

"Objection noted," he snapped. "Now, please release Krogan."

The scientist didn't need another reminder to carry out the job. He pressed some holographic buttons, and a door beside the cell opened up. Mordin walked towards it.

"Need to monitor pod as it clears quarantine procedures," he said. He stepped into the small chamber and the door sealed shut behind him. "Meet us at the next checkpoint, Shepard. Likely Cerberus opposes genophage cure."

Shepard approached the barrier, looking right at the Krogan female as a loud whirring sound was heard and the pod began to move slowly upwards.

"You'll see Tuchanka again," she called to the female. "I promise."

Fearing that she had made a promise that she may not be able to keep, Shepard drew her rifle and led the others to the nearby elevator, fearing the worst. The question of why Cerberus was attacking the base would have to wait; all that mattered was making sure that this Krogan female survived. If she died, all hope of there ever being any kind of alliance would die with her.

0

The fight through Grissom Academy's Atrium had been long and brutal. Alan, Nicole and Gillian managed to get through the door at the opposite side of the vast, garden-like space, supported by Jack's students from the upper level. In spite of some close calls the team had made it through to the exit with barely a scratch. Jack's team, however, wasn't so lucky; from the sounds of Jack's shouting, it sounded like Rodriguez had failed to put up a barrier in time and as a result had taken a bullet to her leg. Luckily no-one else was hurt, and both groups were able to move on before Cerberus had a chance to get themselves organised. For a group that wanted the students alive, Cerberus had no qualms about using deadly force, but even now they were falling back to the shuttle bay, the very place the two teams were trying to reach.

The _Serenity_ crew reached a long corridor lined with sparkling water features. Crouching behind one of the low pools, Alan saw another pair of Cerberus soldiers further down the corridor, standing in front of a large kinetic barrier that covered a portion of the crossed corridor up ahead. Three figures were inside the barrier, two teenage boys kneeling down while a girl was stood upright, a portable shield emitter sitting on the floor close to her.

"That's an impressive barrier, Octavia," one of the Cerberus soldiers growled in that chilling robotic voice. "Our file says you've been working on shield technology."

"It's a handheld multicore solution based on cyclonic barrier technology, jackhole," the girl known as Octavia said in a standoff-ish manner. "And it's pronounced Oc-tah-via."

"Why don't you come out peacefully?" the other soldier asked.

"Why don't you bite me?" Octavia spat.

"Your cousin Joanna is already on the shuttle," replied the first soldier in a tone that he seemed to think was assuring but instead sounded downright sleazy. "Don't you want to make sure she is safe?"

"Bring her here," Octavia demanded.

"What?"

"Bring her here so I can see her, you damn liar!" yelled Octavia. "You think I'm gonna take your word for it?!"

The soldier was about to answer, when his helmeted head suddenly seemed to explode as one of Alan's shots tore through the skull. The other soldier spun round and raised his rifle, but a three-round burst from Nicole's rifle cut him down. The Spartan slapped another clip into her rifle as she and Alan ran up to the barrier. Octavia looked terrified at their approach.

"I don't know who you are," she called, "but stay back!"

"I'm Captain Tyler of the Fleet Shadow of Fury," said Alan, stopping just in front of the barrier. "I'm here to help."

"I didn't buy it from the last guy," the dark-skinned Octavia retorted, still looking suspicious, "and I've got no reason to buy it now." Alan was about to argue, when one of the two boys, roughly fifteen years of age, stood up, peering behind Alan with wide eyes.

"Gillian?" he called. Looking behind him, Alan saw the teenage girl walking up to them, her eyes never leaving his. Alan thought he could see a faint trace of disgust on Gillian's face, but as her expression usually remained so blank it was hard to tell. As she got closer, the boy's mouth fell open, as if he had seen a ghost. "Oh God…"

"You know her, Nick?" asked Octavia.

"Yeah…" Nick Donahue replied. "We were classmates together, about a year before you arrived. She's the youngest Technomancer that's ever been here! I remember she threw me across the cafeteria once…"

"You knocked my milk over," said Gillian blankly.

"Yeah, that was why…" muttered Nick sheepishly, rubbing a hand through his dark uncombed hair.

"You called me names," Gillian went on, her eyes narrowed. "You treated your friends like dirt. You were a bully."

"Alright, alright!" Nick howled indignantly. "I said I was sorry! That was all two years ago! I've changed since then!"

"He's such a nice guy," said Octavia, looking puzzled. "You're serious when you said he was an asshole back then?" She looked over at Nick with an arched eyebrow, causing him to look even more flustered. "I think I should have a chat with Kahlee Sanders."

"Shit, she had to bring all that up…" groaned Nick, holding his head in his hands. "I was a jerk back then, but I got some sense knocked into me." He nodded at Alan and Nicole. "I can tell you one thing; if Gillian's with these guys, they're on the level. She'd never be walking about with Cerberus, or anyone else she didn't like, for that matter."

There was a brief pause, then finally Octavia used her Omni-Tool to deactivate the barrier. Nick helped the other boy, bald-headed and with facial hair, to his feet

"You did a great job keeping yourselves safe," said Alan to Octavia, indicating the way to the shuttle bay. "The psionic students are up there. Stay close. They'll get you out of here."

"Okay," nodded Octavia, looking apologetic. "Uh… thanks." She turned to the other boy, who had remained quiet throughout all this. "Come on, David," she said gently, leading the silent boy towards the door. Nick paused for a moment, looking at Gillian intently. Alan knew it as the look of someone who wanted to say something but was thinking better of it – he had seen Kiryuu use that look a few times in the past - and in the end the boy followed the others.

Deciding that he would worry about that when they got the students to safety, Alan raised his weapon and led the way towards the shuttle bay. The corridor was lined with the bodies of dead Cerberus soldiers and smashed mechs; it seemed obvious that Jack and her students had been through here. As the group approached the door to the shuttle bay, they heard the sounds of copious amounts of gunfire on the other side.

Heading through the door and up a flight of stairs, the team found themselves in the cavernous reception area of the academy, furnished with a number of benches and a statue of the academy's founder, John Grissom, in the centre of the pillar-lined room. Crouching behind one of the pillars, Alan saw Jack and her students, throwing around Cerberus soldiers like ninepins while keeping themselves behind a psionic barrier. They were fast losing strength from all the fighting, but they were valiantly struggling on, inching towards the door to the shuttle bay. The _Serenity_ crew rushed in, Alan and Nicole taking some of the pressure off the students by gunning down more of the Cerberus troopers.

"There's the shuttle bay!" Jack was barking. "Head over there two by two! Rodriguez, Prangley, stay close!" In the middle of the crowd, Alan could see that Nick and his friends had managed to catch up to the others and were helping out with their own psionics and shield generators. Jack turned to see Alan and her eyes went wide as she saw something behind him. "Tyler, watch your ass!" Alan spun round, and saw that more Cerberus troopers were beginning to file out of the doors around the upper level, moving to surround them all.

"Move!" he barked to the students. "Get to the shuttles!" The students followed Jack's orders to the word, moving in pairs; one keeping a shield maintained while the other helped to deflect the enemies away. Alan provided his own covering fire with his own Technomantic revolver, while Nicole helped Gillian to cross the hall to the shuttle. The girl kept her ears covered, trying to drown out the sound of gunfire which threatened to overwhelm her senses.

Gradually, after several intense minutes of fighting an endless tide of Cerberus agents, the crowd of students thinned out, until only Rodriguez and Prangley remained with Jack.

"_The shuttles are ready!"_ Kahlee's voice suddenly chimed in over Alan's commlink. _"Hurry, Captain! The _Serenity_ has pulled the cruiser out of position! We need to leave now!"_

"On my word, we make a break for the shuttles!" Jack barked, snarling like a wild animal as she tore apart two more soldiers. "3… 2… 1… Go!"

With that, she and the students ran for the shuttle bay, where Alan, Nicole and Gillian were waiting for them. However, Rodriguez fell behind, limping heavily from the shot she had taken earlier, and all of a sudden she collapsed, falling hard onto the floor, in full view of the soldiers who even now were clamouring towards her. The girl cried out, and Jack turned, aghast. The soldiers opened fire, Rodriguez barely able to roll behind a bench in time.

Jack was about to run back into the fray, a murderous look in her eyes, when someone roughly pushed her out of the way as they sprinted past. To Alan's horror it turned out to be Gillian, who was sprinting towards the stricken Rodriguez and pulling the ghostly cyan cords of a Technomancer out of the back of her head. Her eyes glowed a blue colour and a triangle-shaped tattoo appeared on each cheek. The cords seemed to whip around of their own accord, splintering until they surrounded Gillian like a shield, deflecting all the incoming rifle fire. In spite of all the rounds that the soldiers were sending in her direction, she didn't break a sweat under the protection of her self-made barrier.

Suddenly the cords began to splinter again, spreading all around the room until they latched themselves onto every soldier in the chamber, the entire chamber becoming bathed in that soft cyan glow. Some of them shot at the cords to try to break them off, but the bullets had no effect whatsoever. It was then that the hall became filled with the sounds of gruesome electronic screams of agony, as the bodies of the Cerberus soldiers began to shudder violently. Before anyone watching the spectacle even had time to think, the soldiers seemed to explode from within, their bodies being reduced to a fine red mist that blanketed the walls and floor. Only the faintest echo of the screams remained, lingering for a few seconds until there was nothing but silence.

Everyone watching was too shocked and stunned into silence. Even more unnerving to Alan than the sight of several Cerberus soldiers all being atomised, however, was Gillian's reaction to it. The girl looked completely unfazed as she withdrew the cords back into her head, and turned to Rodriguez with a confident, child-like smile on her face. Rodriguez shook as she pulled herself to her feet, Gillian stepping forward to give her support. The psion was too shocked to resist and was soon being led back to the shuttle by the Technomancer. Alan, Nicole and Jack followed her on board, the door slamming shut behind them. Instantly the shuttle took off, carrying them and the students away from the stricken academy.

"Call," Alan said into his commlink, pacing back and forth as the shuttle rattled around them. "We flew out on a Cerberus shuttle. Watch your fire."

"_Right, I've got you on sensors,"_ was Call's relieved-sounding reply. _"We'll send you rendezvous coordinates, and we'll meet you in a few minutes."_ As she signed off, Alan looked around at the exhausted faces of the students. Some of them looked uncomfortably at Gillian, who sat next to Nicole as if what had just transpired was nothing out of the ordinary in the slightest. Kahlee Sanders was also on board the shuttle, and she turned to Alan.

"Thank you, Captain," she said. "We'd have never gotten off that station if you hadn't come." Alan looked between her, Nick and Gillian, feeling that there was something he still didn't know about his Technomantic companion, something nobody wanted to tell him. Even Jack, who looked exhausted, looked curiously at the girl, as if a thought had occurred to her.

"Forget that," Jack then said, taking her focus off of Gillian for a moment. "We kicked some ass." She peered into the faces of every student, pride shining out of her face. "Next place we dock, you're all getting inked; my treat. So what do you guys want? Ascension Project logo? Glowing fist? Maybe a unicorn for Rodriguez." She smirked at the young student, who was nursing her leg. Medi-gel had been applied to it, but it was only now that she was able to relax that she felt like it was healing.

"Screw you, ma'am!" Rodriguez replied, failing to suppress a brave smile of her own.

"I can't believe we got them out alive," said Kahlee, smiling. "I was going to suggest that they stick to support roles, but perhaps they're ready after all." At this, excited whispers broke out among the students, but Jack looked uneasy at Alan. Recalling their discussion before, Alan knew how she felt about the idea of putting them on the frontlines. They were clearly enthusiastic, but after what he had seen he wasn't sure if they were ready to handle front-line duties yet. He turned back to Kahlee.

"They're definitely ready," he said. "But the UNSC needs them in a support role."

"What?!" howled Prangley. "We trained for artillery strikes!"

"We don't need another artillery unit," Alan replied firmly. "We need stronger barriers for our front-line squads."

"This is bullshit!" Rodriguez barked.

"Hey," Jack retorted, "if that's where they need us, then that's where we go. Besides, I'm sure we'll get some shots in." Alan then raised his commlink as it beeped. He raised it to read the message he'd received.

"Okay," he said. "I've got the rendezvous coordinates. We'll be on board _Serenity_ and headed for the _Shi'lithra_ in a few minutes."

"We'll be seeing the Precursors?" asked Jack. "Damn, if I'd known that I would've cleaned myself up a little. Those guys look like hardcore badasses."

"Never figured you to be the type to wear uniform," said Alan with a smirk. "I bet that you just had the officer's bars tattooed on."

"Screw you," Jack replied.

"Uh, what was that?" Alan asked. "I noticed you haven't said the F word once all day."

"Jack promised to watch her language," chuckled Kahlee, "in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we expect of our teachers."

"Does she have a swear jar?" Alan asked. "I bet if we emptied that thing we could afford another cruiser." With a grin, Jack turned to the students.

"Cover your ears, kids," she said. All of the teenagers did so as their instructor turned back to the smirking mutant. "Hey Tyler," she continued. "F-"

She then proceeded to weave together a tapestry of profanities that, as far as Alan could tell, would hang in space covering most of the Petra Nebula for generations to come.

0

Shepard stood at the entrance to the STG base, panting hard, staring at the wreckage of the Atlas mech, the last of Cerberus' forces in the base. A well-placed Singularity from Liara had sent one of its own missiles back at it, smashing open the canopy and allowing Garrus to take down the pilot with a single sniper bullet. Things were as calm as they could be now, but they had to leave quickly if they were to have any hope of getting the female Krogan away from here before more soldiers showed up. As Mordin moved the Krogan through the final checkpoint, she couldn't help but wonder who had tipped Cerberus off about this; they had gotten here too fast for them to have gathered any intelligence of these events by themselves.

With the landing pad finally clear once again, the _Normandy_'s shuttle, which Wrex had commandeered and flown around the area to draw fire away from the base, was now able to return to pick up the female Krogan. The shuttle gently hovered over the landing pad, scattering dust around as Wrex opened the side door and disembarked, pumping his shotgun. He strode over to Shepard and the pair shook hands.

"You had me worried there for a minute," he grunted.

"Let's make this quick!" Shepard barked to everyone as they headed over to the unlocked cell. Mordin approached the Krogan first, no doubt to offer to help her dismount from the slab she had been strapped to, but Wrex roughly pushed the Salarian out of the way, offering her a hand.

"Let's get you out of there," he said. The female didn't say anything, but stepped down from the slab by herself with a grace that Shepard would never have imagined any in the Krogan race being capable of. Her eyes regarded Wrex as she did so, silently judging him.

"There they are!" the electronic voice of a Cerberus soldier suddenly called, and two straggling troopers could be seen rounding the corner, charging towards them with all gusto. However, without so much as blinking, the female Krogan grabbed Wrex's shotgun from its holster and fired two shots, neatly puncturing the soldiers' armour and sending them sprawling to the floor in a pool of their own blood. Wrex looked flabbergasted as the female roughly shoved the still-smoking gun back into his hands.

"I can handle myself, Wrex," she said smoothly, walking past the group and stepping onto the shuttle.

"Women…" grunted Wrex as he watched her. There was an odd smile on his face; clearly she was his kind of woman. He followed her back onto the shuttle, as calmly as if they were on a first date.

Shepard was about to follow them, when she heard low groaning coming from one of the soldiers. He was still alive, though clearly not for much longer. She marched over to him, drawing her pistol.

"We…" the Cerberus soldier gasped, in the midst of his spluttering, doubtless coughing up his own blood inside his helmet.

"Why is Cerberus here?" Shepard hissed. "What do you want?!"

Unfortunately, the only sound that escaped the soldier's mouth was one last splutter – a sound which Shepard could have sworn was a defiant chuckle – before he released his death rattle. Shepard snarled as she stood back up, and walked back over to the shuttle to rejoin the others. There was nothing else to be gained here, and all-new questions to answer. Nothing about this attack had made sense; the war against the Reapers was complicated enough, but what exactly was Cerberus up to?


	9. Hell Hath No Fury

**Hell Hath No Fury…**

_**1555, November 9, 2560 (Military Time)\Classified Location**_

"With the safe return of the Grissom Academy students, efforts are now being made to contact their loved ones. If you or anyone you know has connections with the affected students, please contact your nearest UNSC outpost. Emily Wong, Citadel News Network, on board the _Serenity_." As Emily Wong finished her recording and disabled her camera equipment, the cargo ramp opened and the sprawl of the _Shi'lithra_'s hangar bay was revealed to the excitable students. "Was that okay, Captain Tyler?" she asked Alan.

"That was definitely okay, Ms. Wong," replied Alan, leading the way down into the hangar bay behind the students as they filed out onto the rippling black floor. "Get that to your studio as quickly as possible; God knows the folks back home could use some good news."

Emily nodded, beaming, then left to go transmit her story. Alan headed down into the hangar, but no sooner had he set foot on the floor than he found himself approached by Shepard. The _Normandy_ and the _Serenity_ were docked quite close to each other; indeed it seemed that this hangar had been designated as theirs, in spite of being large enough to hold an entire fleet, possibly more.

"I guess you want to see how our guest is doing," said Shepard as they shook hands. She of course had communicated with Alan and Kedzuel before arriving, and before Alan could say otherwise he found himself following her back towards the _Normandy_.

"Gotta admit I'm curious," he replied as both walked up the ramp into the shuttle bay. "I've never even seen a female Krogan before." They entered the hangar and passed by Steve Cortez, the shuttle pilot, repairing a somewhat-dented shuttle. "Do you really think this whole plan will work? I have faith in Wrex, but not in his diplomatic skills."

"Something tells me the female will be the one calling the shots on this," said Shepard. "This treaty will make or break the war against the Reapers, and we need her to make the alliance possible." They stepped into the elevator at the back of the bay and rode it upwards, Shepard finally releasing a deep sigh. "What I want to know is what Cerberus was doing there, and how they learned of what we were up to…"

"If I ever get my claws on the Illusive Man…" Alan muttered, punching his fist into the palm of his other hand. The elevator stopped at the crew deck, where the medical bay was located, and even before the pair stepped out of it they heard raised voices.

"You have the female, Wrex!" Primarch Victus' voice barked. "A cure for the rest of your people can come later!"

"That wasn't the deal," Wrex growled. Shepard and Alan stepped out of the elevator to find both the Krogan and Turian leaders in a stand-off. Wrex folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, while Victus shook his head, exasperated. Also present was Mordin, looking embarrassed for the two.

"But Palaven needs your forces now," Victus pleaded. "We can't delay!"

"Unless every Krogan gets the cure," stated Wrex firmly, "there's no alliance."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Shepard approached the Salarian.

"Mordin," she asked, "how long will it take to finish a cure?"

"Need to synthesise base antigen from female," said Mordin, speaking rapidly. "Also require healthy male Krogan tissue. Will need a sample."

"You're looking at it," grunted Wrex, shrugging.

"Acceptable," Mordin nodded. "Will need you to remain aboard _Normandy_ for procedure." At this news, Wrex groaned.

"Let's hope the food's gotten better," he sighed. Alan walked over to the group, looking concerned.

"Formulating a cure that works for every Krogan sounds like a tall order, if I'm honest," he said. "Are you sure you can do it, Mordin?"

"Of course," nodded Mordin, though his voice sounded solemn. "Similar to genophage modification project. Working against own alterations this time. Not as simple as garbage DNA blocking attachment sites. Will need to counteract shutdown of redundant nervous system, adjust neurotransmitter levels-"

"I get the picture, Mordin," Alan cut in, holding up his hands. He knew that Mordin had a tendency to get absorbed in the details of his work and needed to be brought to a halt once in a while.

"Will create cure," said Mordin earnestly. "No need to worry."

"Then get started, Mordin," said Shepard, "and make it quick."

"Always do," said Mordin. "Now please excuse me. Eve requires tests." Looking behind Mordin, Alan could now see through the windows in the med bay, and saw the robed female Krogan sat on one of the examination bunks.

"Eve?" asked Alan.

"Female's real name unknown," Mordin explained. "_Normandy_ a human vessel. Human mythology seemed appropriate under circumstances. Suggest speaking with her. New perspective. Surprising in Krogan." With that, he turned on his heel and marched into the medical bay. Shepard peered at Victus and Wrex, who now seemed to be doing their best to avoid each other's eyes.

"Now is there anything else?" Shepard asked, her voice betraying only the slightest hint of irritation.

"There's a small matter concerning a ship we've lost contact with," Victus replied.

"What happened?"

"I'd rather discuss it…" the Primarch muttered, glancing at Wrex. "In private."

"Turian problems can't even come close to what I've got," said Wrex, folding his arms.

"What is it?" asked Shepard.

"Some of my men went missing," said Wrex. "The rest we can discuss…" He shot a nasty look at the Primarch. "Somewhere else."

"Oh, for crying out loud…" muttered Alan, before turning back to the Commander. "Shepard, you find out what Victus wants. I'll speak to Wrex."

"We'll head for the War Room, Primarch," Shepard said, sounding as weary as Alan felt. "Just be ready to talk." With that, she led Victus back into the elevator, and soon they were riding up to the next deck. Alan exhaled, shaking his head in disbelief. In spite of everything, the tensions between the races were still at boiling point. He was sure that no-one would be able to relax until the genophage was cured, though he still couldn't see how Mordin was going to make it possible. Of course, turning back to Wrex he was reminded that he had more immediate concerns. The Krogan was looking at the elevator with an almost wistful look on his face.

"Hell of a show down there on Sur'Kesh," he said. "Just like the old days; right down to me pulling Shepard's ass outta the fire."

"From what I heard," Alan replied, smirking, "she was the one with bullets flying at her."

"And I gave her the moral support to dodge them," Wrex replied, smirking himself.

"Uh-huh…" was all Alan could think of in response to that. "You said one of your squads had gone missing?" Wrex looked around him, checking that nobody else was listening. Finding the deck quite deserted and the door to the medical bay firmly shut, he leaned closer to Alan.

"They were scouting what we nicknamed the Rachni Relay," he hissed. "There are rumours of trouble in that area."

"The Rachni?" Alan said, now genuinely surprised. He had not heard mention of the Rachni for two years, and they were a race that was widely-feared among the galaxy's residents, all of whom had either read about or experienced the Rachni Wars.

"Thought that might get your attention," said Wrex. "I have a favour to ask. It's big."

"Don't tell me they're back…" Alan breathed.

"All I know for sure is our scouts went silent as soon as they arrived," said Wrex, looking grave. "I've got Aralakh Company, my best unit, on standby. You give the word, and they'll meet you there."

"I'll see what I can do," said Alan, nodding. "Though I don't know how we could be having trouble with them… They were all but extinct. The last queen promised Shepard that she'd disappear forever or be destroyed."

"I know," said Wrex. "I was there. I've got a bad feeling about this… May not be Rachni, but maybe it is. Could be another invasion. If they're crawling out from under some rock, you know how bad it could get. We need to stop them."

Alan nodded. He had fought against a swarm of insane Rachni two years ago, and read Shepard's report from the incident on Noveria. At that time the last queen had been discovered, and Saren's agents had tried to use her children as biological weapons, resulting in the insanity that had stricken them. If something had happened to the queen, there was no telling what kind of danger was about to befall the galaxy.

Trying to take his mind off this threat, he looked behind Wrex and toward the medical bay, though aside from Mordin working hard at some of the instruments he could not make out what was going on. "What do you plan to do once the genophage is cured, by the way?"

"Once we deal with the Reapers," said Wrex, "most Krogan will wanna settle a score with the Turians and Salarians." His eyes narrowed, and the slit pupil of his eyes became pencil-thin. "I won't let them. That isn't our path forward. This time will be different."

"A lot of people will be relieved to hear that," nodded Alan. "No-one wants to repeat history."

"They know we'd probably win this time," stated Wrex, folding his arms. "But war has never brought us anything except misery. It's time to focus on rebuilding."

"Let's just hope we've got something to rebuild with when all this is over," sighed Alan. "What's the situation on Tuchanka?"

"I'm still getting scattered reports of Reaper forces arriving," snarled Wrex. "Something big is brewing. I won't let those things take Tuchanka, not when we're about to cure the genophage… My people have had enough bad luck in our time!"

"From what Shepard's been telling me," said Alan, "it sounded like this 'Eve' could hold her own."

"Our females don't lack for spirit," said Wrex. "For males, a good show of force sorts things out. But females like to talk about things, then think about it, then talk about it some more! Just don't tell Shepard I said that."

"Believe it or not," said Alan, grinning, "sometimes women have good ideas, Wrex. You should try listening. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Nicole, Call or Rachel to keep me in check."

"Yeah," sighed Wrex, as if this was an alien concept to him. "But our women have so many ideas. So sometimes I pretend to listen and… well… Let's just say Krogan females have tempers too."

Alan chuckled. "Well, I'll let you get back to work," he said. "I'm gonna see if the patient's allowed any visitors."

"Gotta say, I like what Shepard's done with the _Normandy_," said Wrex, peering around him and chuckling. "Got tired of always hanging around the cargo bay before. I've missed this place." He leaned against the wall, looking downcast. "Wish I could knock some heads around with you and Shepard, but duty calls. If the Salarian says my DNA's important, who am I to argue?"

Alan walked past Wrex and entered the medical bay. Dr. Chakwas was nowhere to be seen; she had been dismissed from the room while Mordin was working in there. Currently the Salarian was standing before the robed figure known as Eve, reading data from a personal datapad.

"Aware Krogan females find scars attractive," he was saying. "Garrus loyal, reasonably intelligent, bit aggressive. Almost like Krogan."

"For the third time, Doctor, I'm not interested," Eve replied in a firm, irritated tone. Mordin then turned and saw Alan approach.

"Ah, Captain Tyler," he said. "Good to see you again. We were just-"

At that moment, the door slid open, and Wrex entered the room, apparently having decided to follow Alan inside. He was looking at Eve with great concern, something which seemed almost inconceivable on Krogan faces.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine, Wrex," replied Eve. "You can relax."

"Can't be too careful," muttered Wrex darkly. "Or put any faith in Salarian doctors."

"This one is different," replied Eve.

"Is he?" asked Wrex disbelievingly. His eyes flicked down to a small hi-tech lancet in Mordin's hand, one which was filled with red liquid. "What's that?"

"Simple blood test," said Mordin.

"What kind?"

"Kind that ends the genophage," replied Mordin simply, his face contorted in concentration. "Distraction is counterproductive. Also affecting comfort of patient."

"He was your inside source, Wrex," Alan chimed in. "I'm sure you can trust him."

"Salarians have minds like a maze," Wrex hissed. "You never know when they're leading you into a trap." Mordin had turned away to ready the blood sample for testing, but now he spun around on his heel and glared at Wrex with his large, dark eyes.

"Trap?!" he spluttered indignantly. "Eve's release my doing! Would never have known about her if not for me!"

"That was then," Wrex hissed, "but she's out now. And if she gets hurt, I'll feel it."

"Understand," replied Mordin, still looking annoyed at Wrex's lack of trust in him. "But my patient. My responsibility. Her welfare a priority. Will not allow her to be compromised by anyone." He spun on his heel and immediately concentrated on his work. To Alan's surprise, Wrex actually chuckled.

"You've got a quad on ya, doc," he said. "Keep her safe. Our females have endured enough."

As the Krogan leader turned to leave, Mordin called after him, "Don't forget. Still need your tissue sample."

"I'll be back…" grunted Wrex, sounding rather like a child having to do a particularly hated chore. With a groan, he walked out of the medical bay.

"Common phobia," Mordin said without looking up from his work. "Fear of needles."

"Or Salarian doctors…" Alan muttered, glancing back at the door. Clearly this was a very uncomfortable situation for Wrex, having to work with the two races who had caused his people the most pain, the races that his own kind wanted dead above all others.

"Now have work to do," Mordin said simply, apparently ignoring Alan's point. "Prefer females of species." All of a sudden two more visitors entered the medical bay - Kedzuel and Liara. At the sound of the door opening, Mordin looked up from his analysis of the blood sample, looking irritated.

"No more visitors," he chided. "Too many will increase patient's stress levels. Cannot afford distractions."

"I understand that, Doctor Solus," said Kedzuel, looking apologetic, "but do you not think we should move your patient into our own infirmary? We can have the finest Kethosi medical teams examine her and create the genophage cure in mere hours."

"No," Eve suddenly said, loudly and firmly. She was glaring at Kedzuel, the eyes behind her veil narrow and distrustful. The Kethosi Emperor turned to look at her, looking surprised.

"But surely you would appreciate-" he began, but Eve quickly interrupted him:

"Professor Mordin Solus is the only doctor who I trust on this matter. I appreciate that we are running out of time, but no-one alive understands the genophage more than he does. There is no-one else who has the knowledge and skill necessary to create the cure."

At this, Kedzuel's expression turned hostile. He frowned darkly at Eve, his back straightened, and he looked every inch the imposing Emperor. "Need I remind you that I could have returned to this galaxy and taken the resources I need with very little notice or permission from any of you? I would have mined all of your planets hollow, until their cores collapsed with very little warning, without a care to who lived upon them. And I would say that your deaths were a mercy I granted you. But I decided to be generous, be kind, considerate, diplomatic. And I decided to be patient. But my patience is wearing thin." He took in a deep breath and stated in a commanding tone. "I could have returned to this galaxy as a conqueror instead of a diplomat. I am Emperor. And how did I become Emperor? I beheaded my own family member and anyone who supported him, their families, their friends, innocent children. Sons, daughters. All because I wanted things to change and I felt they weren't changing fast enough. And if things are not moving at the pace I want them to move, and lives are lost all because I decided to be diplomatic and generous, heads will roll and worlds will collapse."

"Kedzuel!" Alan interrupted, calmly but firmly, holding up a claw to silence him. "Let it go, okay? You're not gonna get anywhere with this if the people you're supposed to be working with don't want to be near you!"

Kedzuel looked flustered. "You are the last person who needs to be reminded that we are on a tight schedule, Alan. If this cure cannot be done on time before another system falls to the Reapers, then it will have to wait until after we've dealt with them. Besides I already promised Wrex that I would re-terraform his planet in payment. The cure would be gratuity for a job well done. After the war is finished, you will have all the time you need to finish it, Doctor. And if we do not win this war, there will be no Krogans, no Salarians, no Asari left to reap the benefits of my generosity."

"We can't put off the cure!" Alan barked, gesturing to the mess hall. "You heard what Wrex said; he's not gonna budge his forces until the cure is made and dispersed! So does that mean you're gonna force the Blitzardi Push on him too?!"

"If it'll put an end to the Reapers before they can take any more lives," Kedzuel retorted, raising his voice, "then yes!"

"Oh stop it, both of you!" a voice called out. Alan and Kedzuel both turned, shocked that the voice had come from Liara, who was now looking at both of them with the look of a disapproving mother. "You're like boys with toys." She gripped Kedzuel's arm tightly, and her expression softened. "Kedzuel…please trust Doctor Solus on this matter. From what you've been telling me, it was not trusting other races to solve such problems on their own that led to the kind of mentality that allowed the Hydra and the Reapers to exist in the first place. Besides, leaving the doctor in charge of this project frees up your ability to commit to… to other urgent matters."

Kedzuel seethed, hardly daring to believe that others were trying to override his authority. The Reapers would not wait for the cure to be created, and he knew that. He needed to push everyone into the fight. However, he knew Liara was right; he knew that he had to maintain the trust of the other races, cooperate with them, and that did mean some give-and-take. He snarled, shaking his head.

"Very well," he said firmly, speaking to the back of Mordin's head in-particular. "But understand that you are working on my time. If you take too long for my liking, I will intervene in this matter, and I don't need the permission of you, or anyone else, to do so."

"Understood," said Mordin, not turning around for a moment as he worked on the blood sample. "Will have the cure for you soon. Work better under pressure." It was then that there was a sudden beep from the medical unit that Mordin had been stood in front of. He consulted a datapad, then turned back to the others.

"Blood work complete," he said in a low tone and casting a concerned eye back at Eve. "Indicates significant stress on Eve's system. Data from my former student Maelon thorough. Fortunately detailed as well. Have used notes to improve her condition."

"How's she doing?" asked Liara.

"No fever currently," replied Mordin in his usual rapid-fire manner. "Heart rate elevated, likely stress. Eating appropriately. Could use another blanket. Something soft." He turned to look at Kedzuel in-particular. "Prefer to let her recover fully before synthesising cure. My medical recommendation."

"You care about her," said Liara, with a slight smile.

"My patient," Mordin said, remaining unflappable. "My responsibility. Found her at STG base. Three doctors injured trying to restrain her. Undid arm restraints. Didn't resist when she grabbed me. Promised to help her." He paused for a moment, closing his eyes. "She said 'Please'."

"You mentioned something about data from an old acquaintance?" asked Alan. "I remember the name 'Maelon' being mentioned to me before."

"Yes," replied Mordin. "Long story short, Shepard did right thing by asking me to save it. Would be much harder to treat Eve without it; maybe impossible."

"Shepard mentioned experiments on Tuchanka," Alan continued, his eyes narrowing. "She said they were barbaric."

"Monstrous," said Mordin, nodding in agreement. "Repulsive. But now with purpose. Victims didn't die for nothing."

"So the end justifies the means?" Alan spat.

"Not my means."

"But you're using the data," Alan retorted, his voice raising. "Encouraging more experiments like Maelon's."

"Encouragement irrelevant," replied Mordin, waving a hand dismissively. "Will always be scientists willing to perform unethical tests. Can't change that. But can help Eve. Can cure genophage. Won't ignore data vital to her survival because of unethical origins."

Alan, unable to think of anything more to say, simply sighed and massaged his temples. He didn't like the sound of where this data had come from, but what Mordin was saying wasn't wrong. He could not afford to dwell too much on the origins of the data, not when there was still a chance some good could come from it.

"Have you determined why she's immune?" asked Kedzuel.

"Genophage targeted hormone production during pregnancy," Mordin explained, gesturing with his hands. "Modification project used same modality. Her 'immunity' totally different. Targeted glands now obsolete, like human appendix. Other glands mutated to produce proper hormones, enable viable birth. Also explains her weakness. Gland substitute imperfect. Health trouble."

"You think you can make this work for all Krogan?" asked Kedzuel.

"Yes," said Mordin, looking proud. "Will use Eve's tissue to produce mutagen, alter gland function across entire species. Must improve mutagen as well, tune hormone production. Long-term illness for all Krogan otherwise."

"You always defended your genophage work," said Liara, drawing on the data she had obtained on Mordin from her role as the Shadow Broker. "What changed your mind?"

"Never changed mind," replied Mordin, shaking his head indignantly. "Genophage proper decision at time. New circumstances necessitate course correction."

"Those circumstances being?"

"Reaper invasion," said Mordin. "Turians doomed without Krogan support. Krogans need unified threat, outlet for aggression. Cooperative symbiosis."

"Nothing else?" spat Alan, rolling his eyes. "No personal stake here?" At this, Mordin looked away awkwardly, taking a moment to peer back at Eve.

"Getting old, Tyler," he said wearily. "Not many years left. But still best candidate for project. Few Salarian scientists interested in genophage. None with my expertise. Had to be me." His expression seemed to harden, as if he was showing his resolve. "Have to do my part to put an end to the Hydra. Incident with Collectors gave me insight into his mind." He inhaled deeply, his eyes narrowed. "Horrific."

"That's King Ghidorah all over…" sighed Kedzuel.

"His crimes go beyond mass genocide," Mordin suddenly said rather forcefully. "Indoctrination itself destructive process. Leaves entire races with no art, no culture, everything they were long gone."

Kedzuel looked rather taken aback. "This really bothers you, doesn't it?" he asked.

"Disrupts socio-technological balance!" Mordin hissed. "All scientific advancements due to intelligence overcoming, compensating for limitations. Can't carry a load, so invent wheel. Can't catch food, so invent spear. Limitations!" He gesticulated wildly, his speech becoming more passionate. "No limitations, no advancement. No advancement, culture stagnates! Works other way too. Advancement before culture is ready disastrous! Saw it with Krogans. Uplifted by Salarians. Disastrous… Our fault." He hung his head, now looking shameful.

"You blame the Salarians for the Krogan Rebellions?" asked Liara, looking puzzled.

"Yes," stated Mordin. "Like giving nuclear weapons to cave-men. Krogans unprepared for spaceflight, technological advances. Krogans could have evolved alone. Worked out aggression. Been ready to use new tech responsibly. Instead, Salarians came. Disrupted Krogan culture. Used Krogans as blunt instrument against the Rachni. Shortsighted… Foolish."

"If you felt that way," asked Alan, "then why go along with the genophage modification in the first place?"

"Explained to Shepard before," said Mordin. "Best option. That or kill them all. If around during first contact, would have argued against it. Wasn't there then." He sighed. "Doing what I can now."

"I wouldn't think you'd need much more motivation for stopping a genocidal demi-god," shrugged Alan. "I didn't even think you had any interest in art."

"Personal interest negligible," shrugged Mordin. "Sang a little. Multispecies productions for cultural exploration. Gilbert and Sullivan. Always had me do the patter songs." He shook his head. "But not about me. Cultural artistic expression reflects philosophical evolution. Interest in growth, perspective, observation, interpretation. Saw no art in Collector base. Culturally dead. Tools for King Ghidorah. Cannot allow that to happen to anyone else."

"I feel you have a better grasp of why we must put an end to the Hydra than anyone else," said Kedzuel, looking thoughtful. It was then that Alan interrupted.

"I'm sorry," he said, with a sly smile, holding his hands up. "I know what you just said was important, but… You performed Gilbert and Sullivan?"

Mordin's expression brightened, then all of a sudden he burst into song, singing an altered version of the Major General's Song from _The Pirates of Penzance_. He kept pace perfectly, hitting every note, and ended with a loud, resonant flourish in the long notes of the last two lines:

"_I am the very model of a Scientist Salarian,_

_I've studied species Turian, Asari and Batarian._

_I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology),_

_Because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology)._

_My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian._

_I am the very model of a Scientist Salarian!"_

There was a long pause afterwards, as Mordin turned back to the others, coughing politely. None of the group seemed to know how to react, like they wanted to applaud but also tried to remain professional. It was finally Kedzuel who broke the silence, rubbing behind his head.

"Well…" he coughed, instantly resuming his imperial stance. "We will leave you to your work. Keep us updated on your progress."

"Take care of Eve," Liara chimed in.

"Of course," replied Mordin, turning back to his workstation. "Proud to be here, Emperor Draconis. Will not let anyone down."

"Just remember, Professor," Kedzuel said, as he turned to the door. "You have a deadline." On that uncomfortable note, he and Liara then stepped out of the infirmary, heads together as if in deep conversation, but Alan lingered.

"Mind if I speak to Eve?" he asked. Now that he had the opportunity to speak to a female Krogan, he knew he didn't want to waste it.

"Provided she is comfortable with it," Mordin said without looking up. "Conversation may help to ease stress levels. Doubtless said levels were raised by eavesdropping on our discussion."

"No-one feels comfortable overhearing others talking about their possible death," Eve said dryly.

"Apologies," said Mordin, full of sympathy. "Had not considered effect on patient at the time. Will try to avoid such subjects in the future. Maybe secure a lock even a Technomantic Master cannot break." Feeling rather uncomfortable under Eve's penetrating gaze, Alan walked over to Eve's table. Though he could only see her eyes, he did not doubt that the female's expression was one of overwhelming resolve and power. He could see why Wrex had felt so intimidated, especially when she stood up from the table and showed herself to be as tall as Alan was.

"I saw you conversing with Wrex outside this room," she said to him. "I was also impressed at the lengths Commander Shepard went to to save my life. I didn't think the Krogans had any allies left in this galaxy."

"We owe a lot to you," said Alan, "even if most people have forgotten that."

"They can be forgiven," sighed Eve. "Our actions have hardly inspired friendship."

"Part of being friends is knowing each other's name," said Alan, rubbing the back of his head. "I feel kind of bad that I don't know yours."

"I surrendered it the day I became a shaman of the female clan," said Eve, her voice somehow combining both pride and regret. "I belong to my sisters now. But perhaps, one day, when this is over, you will know it."

"You seem pretty quick to trust me," said Alan, arching his brows.

"An individual can be judged by the company they keep," said Eve. "If Commander Shepard, Doctor Solus and Urdnot Wrex count you as an ally, then I feel safe in the knowledge that I can do the same. I also appreciate how you spoke in my defence before; I am not at ease around the beings you call Precursors. Your Emperor Kedzuel reminds me too much of some Krogan clan leaders I've encountered." Alan nodded, then let his shoulders relax; they had been rather tense prior to him actually speaking to this female.

"Forgive my ignorance," he said, "but I didn't realise the Krogans had female shamans."

"Wisdom comes from pain," replied Eve, "and the genophage has made us very wise. Rather than surrender to despair, a few of us chose to preserve the ancient ways. We safeguard our culture, our knowledge, our secrets – so that when our children live again, the Krogans will flourish.

"If it's not too personal a question," Alan asked, "how were you initiated?" At this, Eve leaned closer to Alan, her eyes seeming to burn into him.

"You're locked in a cave for seven days," she said darkly, "with just enough food to last. On the eighth, you'll starve."

"What does that prove?"

"Your resolve," stated Eve. "Every acolyte is given a chance; you either claw your way out through the rock with your bare hands, or you die."

"Sounds brutal," Alan winced.

"But illuminating," nodded Eve. "You learn to appreciate the light by living in the dark."

"How did you make it out alive?" asked Alan, in a quiet tone, hardly daring to believe Eve's words.

"I started digging the wrong way," the shaman replied. "I was in complete darkness. Nothing but the sound of my own heartbeat to sustain me."

"What happened?" asked Alan. Eve reached into her robe, and pulled out a small dull crystal, very murky and clearly not worth much on the market, but holding incredible personal value to the shaman.

"A simple crystal," said Eve, "but it became my chisel. I plan to give this to Commander Shepard, as a reminder that even in the darkest hour, there is always a way out."

For a moment, Alan just stood, shocked into silence even as Eve tucked the crystal back into her robes. He found his respect for Eve towering.

"What do you think of Wrex?" he asked.

"When he's not trying to sire half of Tuchanka," Eve chuckled, "he's the best thing that's happened to the Krogan, though I won't tell him that. His head's big enough already… Literally."

"He's turned into a strong leader," said Alan. "I never would have expected that when I first met him."

"I know in his heart Wrex has always wanted what's best for us," said Eve, her head tilting down and her eyes closed. "Though not all the other clans see it that way."

"I still don't get why the other clans would give him trouble," said Alan, shaking his head. "You'd think they'd want to work for a better future."

"It's not in the nature of our males to cooperate," said Eve in a bitter tone. "They've evolved to be selfish. Their only concern is survival. Wrex is different… He's a mutant. That you can tell him."

"Do you think he'll want revenge for the genophage?" asked Alan, looking awkward. "I have faith in him, but I want a Krogan's perspective on this."

"Some clans will expect it," sighed Eve. "But I hope Wrex resists. He understands the cycle of violence must end if Krogans are ever to have a voice in galactic politics." She shook her head. "Still, he's just one Krogan. If enough clans demand it he may not be able to stop them."

"While we're on the subject," said Alan, "if you don't mind me asking, what's it been like living with the genophage?"

"I knew sisters who couldn't bear the shame of being infertile," said Eve sadly. "They would wander off into the wastelands, hoping a thresher maw would kill them and end their torment."

"Did the thought ever cross your mind?" asked Alan. Eve paused for a moment, her head hanging.

"Yes," she answered, "after my first stillborn."

"What kept you going?"

"When my child didn't draw breath," said Eve, "that's when my life truly began. The genophage forces us to live on hope alone. There is nothing else. There is no reason to exist other than the hope the next day will bring change. And if it doesn't there's always the next."

"So how do you think things will change after the genophage is cured?" asked Alan, incredulous at what he was hearing. Now more than ever he felt he understood the Krogan mindset, and the scars the genophage had left on this race.

"Our species will find its balance again," was Eve's reply. "Females will help shape the future, like in the ancient days, before we were just pawns of power-hungry males."

"Most I've met seem hell-bent on shooting anything that looks at them funny," said Alan in a snide tone, folding his arms.

"What else is there for them to do?" Eve shrugged. "Because of the genophage, they've become wandering killers, seeking targets to justify their existence, excuses to earn them 'honour'." As Alan pondered this answer, he looked back at Mordin, who was continuing away on his experiments without interruption.

"How did you get involved in Maelon's experiments?" he asked.

"The other females and I volunteered," replied Eve. "We heard Maelon was trying to cure the genophage for Clan Weyrloc."

"Weren't they a rival clan?"

"Rivalries are an invention of the males," said Eve, waving her hand dismissively. "Under their rule, Tuchanka has laid in ruins for over a thousand years. It's time females took back our place in society, and resurrected our future. Maelon was our best hope."

"But Shepard told me about Maelon's lab," said Alan, looking grim. "It sounded like a dungeon, and his experiments were brutal."

"We learned that too late," said Eve. "Maelon meant well, but his methods grew more barbaric as he went. Finally, we escaped into the rubble. Eventually a Salarian team found us. They saved our lives; we were so sick."

"Knowing all that," asked Alan, "would you go to him again?"

"Absolutely," nodded the shaman. "It only takes one candle to light a fire, then the darkness is no more."

Alan sighed. "I'm sorry none of the other females survived," he said quietly.

"I know," said Eve, closing her eyes. "The youngest one, Kurn, was the last to go. But she knew she would enter the Void free of this curse… and smile when she looked down upon the children of Tuchanka. Her spirit will be the midwife to my firstborn." Given what Alan had learned from the Precursors, he suspected that Eve was more right than even she realised.

"So how's Mordin been treating you?" he asked.

"Better than Krogan males do," replied Eve, looking over at the Salarian. "He's not like a typical Salarian."

"No no no…" Mordin suddenly started muttering rather loudly. "Organ redundancy results in new period before metaphase. Can't alter that. Damage to telomeres, premature aging…"

"I wish he wouldn't do that so loudly," Eve sighed. "He says he learns best when he can hear himself think, but his thoughts make for uncomfortable listening." Her eyes showed sadness. "But I sense great pain in him too. He told me about his work on the genophage." She turned back to Alan. "I should consider him an enemy. Yet I think seeing my sisters and I changed something in him." They were distracted again when Mordin started humming another part of the Scientist Salarian song, muttering the lyrics. Alan was sure he caught something about the offspring of Asari and Vorcha having dairy allergies.

"Well, it clearly wasn't his ear," chuckled Alan.

"I must say I prefer _Song of the Krogan Queen_," Eve chuckled.

Alan held out a claw for Eve to shake. "Thanks for talking to me."

"It's my pleasure, Captain," replied the shaman warmly, taking Alan's claw in a firm but non-threatening grip. "I'm glad to see humans treat their women with respect. Commander Shepard's people have placed a lot of responsibility on her."

"They know she can take it," nodded Alan, as Even sat herself back down on her table. "But I don't know if it's any more than your people have put on you."

"Then maybe the Commander and I can show the men how it's done," Eve chuckled.

"Don't give up on us just yet," smiled Alan. "We have good ideas once in a while." On another chuckle from Eve, Alan decided to leave the medbay. As he stepped out, he heard an announcement over the PA system from Joker.

"_Attention all hands,"_ he said, _"we're just about ready to depart for Tuchanka. Anyone who's not supposed to be on here should leave now. We shishkabob and barbecue stowaways on this ship."_

Alan wondered what sort of business Shepard had on Tuchanka, especially considering the genophage cure was nowhere near ready. Nonetheless, he thought it best to leave the ship immediately, as he still had his assignment from Wrex to run. So he rode the elevator back down to the cargo bay and sprinted off the ramp. The _Normandy_ waited for him to get clear before it took off, the jets sending powerful gusts around the hangar as it turned and then sped out into the vacuum of space. Alan was rather surprised to see Kedzuel standing in the hangar, watching it leave with a look of great irritation. He wondered if this had anything to do with his argument earlier.

"Of all the stubborn old…" he muttered, rounding on Alan. "I would have thought you, of all people, would understand the urgency of the situation we're in. I wasn't joking before; I will use the Blitzardi Push if it gets everyone moving!"

"Nice to see you too," Alan replied, sardonically. "Liara was right though; if you can't trust us, then how are we to trust you?"

"Spare me…" Kedzuel grumbled, hands on his hips. "I had the same lecture from Liara." He still looked irritated as he turned to look at Alan again. "I've given Wrex a firm but polite reminder of who it was that promised to help him rebuild Tuchanka when all this is over; just a little something to remind his lady-friend of next time she decides to snap at me."

"Let's just forget about that, okay?" said Alan, exasperated. He then saw that he had received a message on his commlink, and took a look at it. "Speaking of Wrex, he's just sent me the coordinates for his little errand. I'd better get going." He turned to leave, but then another thought had occurred to him. He had noticed the behaviour between Kedzuel and Liara lately, and now he found his curiosity getting the better of him. So he found himself turning back to the Kethosi Emperor.

"Hey, Kedzuel," he said, trying to keep his tone casual. "I've noticed that you and Liara have been very chummy since Alistair's funeral. Something going on between you two?"

Instantly, Kedzuel looked a bit abashed. He turned away from Alan for a moment, rubbing behind his head. If he didn't know better, Alan was sure that the Blitzardi Emperor, this leader of an entire empire and a master of Technomancy, was actually blushing.

"It's… it's not unfair to say that," he said, carefully choosing his words. However, his expression quickly turned more morose. "It's more complicated than that, though."

"How?" asked Alan, in a more firm tone. "I noticed how Liara hesitated for a moment back there. She was about to let something big slip, wasn't she?"

Kedzuel sighed deeply. "Kiryuu was right about you…" he rumbled. "As soon as you notice anything even slightly untoward, you don't let it slip by."

"I'm sure he's said it's one of my more annoying character traits," Alan retorted, folding his arms. "If he told you that, then you already know I'm not gonna stop going on about this. Might as well get it out of the way now."

Kedzuel shook his head. His expression looked very grave. Clearly whatever this matter was it was troubling him a great deal, and now Alan was worried that it would have a significant impact on the war.

"What I'm about to tell you," he said quietly, leaning towards Alan and gripping his shoulders, "must never leave this chamber. Can I trust you to keep this matter between ourselves?"

"If you've spoken to Kiryuu about me," said Alan firmly, "then you already know the answer to that."

Kedzuel stepped away for a moment, rubbing his forehead. Whatever it was that he was going to say, it was clearly a difficult matter. With a great deal of apprehension, Alan waited for him to speak, but as Kedzuel opened his mouth there was a sound of footsteps approaching them, and he quickly closed it. As it turned out, they had been interrupted by Kahlee Sanders, looking concerned.

"Captain Tyler?" Kahlee asked as she stopped just before them. "I wanted to talk to you, about Gillian."

"I figured you would," Alan sighed. "I'm sorry I dragged her into that, but she was adamant about coming along to help. Well, you probably know what Gillian's like when she gets an idea planted in her head…"

"It's not that," Kahlee interrupted, shaking her head. "That did bother me, but I'm more bothered about what she's doing with you in the first place. We thought she was still in hiding on the Migrant Fleet." She closed her eyes and sighed, her face becoming a mask of pity. "I really hoped we could spare her from this, especially after what happened to her father…"

"You know what happened to him, don't you?" asked Alan, when he saw just how morose Kahlee looked, like she was in mourning. "What happened to Paul Grayson?"

Unnoticed by the group, Gillian had stepped out of the _Serenity_'s cargo bay. She had been keeping to herself during the ride to the _Shi'lithra_ – most of the students from Grissom Academy seemed flat-out terrified of her. Upon noticing Kahlee Sanders in the hangar she began to walk over to her, but halfway there she stopped dead in her tracks at the mention of her father's name. She strained to listen, feeling that it would be rude to interrupt. There was an awkward silence as Kahlee gathered her thoughts; clearly this was a topic that she found distressing to think about.

"Paul…" she muttered. "Gillian's father…" She paused again, releasing a deep sigh. "He's dead."

"What?!" Alan gasped. Both he and Kedzuel looked aghast.

"But if he had died, I would have known about it…" Kedzuel breathed. "He would have returned to the Array…" Noticing the puzzled expression on Kahlee's face, he hastily added. "It would take too long to explain, but maybe you can tell us what happened to him? It might shed some light on this."

Kahlee looked even more pained. She turned away from Kedzuel for a moment, looking towards the students. They were on the other end of the hangar, and thus she didn't notice Gillian. She took a deep breath, and began:

"I suppose I'd better start from the beginning, since it would explain a great deal about what happened to Paul. He used to be a Cerberus agent, really believed in trying to strengthen humanity's position in the galaxy. He believed in it even to the point where he let a Cerberus scientist experiment on his own daughter." Her eyes narrowed. "I trusted that bastard… That scientist was able to get a job as one of our medics at Grissom Academy, and he kept Gillian drugged, worsening her autism, trying to condition her into being some kind of weapon for them, like they thought somehow she could unlock the full potential of Technomancy. Paul honestly thought it was for the best; he really did love his daughter, but he thought he could trust Cerberus to do what's right. Didn't help that he also had a red sand habit to feed." She looked over at the students, where Jack was currently barking orders at them like a drill instructor. "Jack told me she saw the signs of that conditioning, just like what Cerberus put her through on Pragia. The look on Gillian's face when she destroyed that Cerberus battalion… Jack told me it was a sign of the same sort of feeling she gets whenever she kills somebody."

Alan put a hand to his chin, his brow furrowed. He had heard the basics of this story before, and Kahlee's account was bringing something back to his memory.

"Hendel told me that Paul got some sense knocked into him eventually," he said. "He turned against Cerberus and helped him and Gillian go into hiding on the Migrant Fleet."

"That's right," nodded Kahlee. "Perhaps that was why the Illusive Man wanted him above all others… He would have wanted revenge on Paul for depriving him of a 'resource'…

"The trouble began about two months ago, when David… uhm… Admiral Anderson retired from the Council. You probably already know that he quit because he passed on sensitive information to the Turians. It implicated several high-ranking ONI officials as being part of Cerberus' ranks, and revealed the locations of most of their facilities. On one of them…" She shook her head, looking as if it was physically draining her to talk about this. "They'd caught up to Paul, and were holding him prisoner there… They'd also got Reaper tech from somewhere…" Now Kahlee looked as if she was on the verge of tears, but was doing her best to be brave. "They implanted him with Reaper technology and kept him drugged on red sand to weaken his willpower while they experimented on him like a plaything. My only theory is that they were researching the indoctrination process. In the end, the experiments caused him to become possessed by the Reapers, become some kind of avatar for them, and he attacked Grissom Academy to get at the students. Anderson and I were forced to work with a Cerberus assassin to kill him."

"That's the sickest thing I ever heard…" Alan snarled, looking nauseous. He had been exposed to the darker side of humanity before; the experiments on himself were such an effect of it. He had witnessed some terrible crimes being committed during his time as a Shadowrunner. He had learned of what prolonged exposure to the energies of the Far Realm did to the mind, one of his crew members had learned of what another human faction had done to a beloved relative, and he had witnessed the madness of the Forerunners first-hand. This, however, felt even worse.

"If I ever get my hands on the Illusive Man…" Kedzuel growled, his expression furious. His fist was clenching tighter to the point that the sharp talons were drawing blood, and his body seemed to crackle with electrical energy, as if it was threatening to explode out of him at any second.

All of a sudden they heard footsteps running away from them, echoing across the hangar. Alan looked behind Kahlee and saw Gillian's back running swiftly towards the _Serenity_'s cargo ramp. She was reaching up to the back of her head as she ran. Alan gasped when he thought what must have happened, and his shock almost became full panic when he realised what Gillian was about to do.

"She must have heard us…" he breathed. He pushed past Kahlee and ran towards the _Serenity_, his heart pounding. "Gillian!"

As he reached the cargo ramp, a brilliant cyan light spilled out of the cargo hold, threads of the fine Technomancer cords spreading all over the ramp and the hydraulic pistons holding it in place. Sprinting up the ramp, Alan stopped dead in his tracks. The entire cargo hold was filled with the cords, spreading over every surface and gantry. He had never seen the cords do this; it was if someone had managed to plant an explosive in them and set it off. In the centre of it all was Gillian, kneeling in the dead centre of the floor. The cords were spilling out of her, the triangular markings on her cheeks seeming to burn her, her eyes closed tightly in anguish. She was holding her head as if trying to stop it from exploding, and blood was flowing out of her nose and even her tear ducts. She had been murmuring fitfully, but now the murmuring was becoming a snarl, then the snarl became full-blown hysterics as she screamed out loud.

"No!" she was yelling frantically to nobody. "No! This is all wrong! There's nothing here! It has to be a trick or a lie! Dad? Dad?! Where are you! I can't find you anywhere! Where is he?! Tell me, god-damnit! Tell me!"

"Gillian!" Alan shouted, but he couldn't make himself heard above the din of Gillian's yells. It seemed that she was yelling at someone almost accusingly, but there was no-one else in the room. Alan began to run forward to her, but felt himself being grabbed from behind.

"Alan!" Kedzuel was shouting, his powerful scaled arms keeping Alan tightly held. "Don't!"

"Let go of me!" Alan yelled at him. "She's part of my crew! My responsibility!"

"And she's beyond your ability to help!" Kedzuel retorted. "She's going to burn herself out! Only a Technomancer can save her now!"

With that, he roughly threw Alan to the side, where he slammed into the control console for the airlock. Kedzuel turned back to Gillian, his brow furrowing, his two hearts racing inside of his chest.

"_**She is drawing in too much…stun her, now!"**_

"Just work on your end as well," he said to the disembodied voice reverberating inside of his head. "And I will do mine."

Kedzuel's talons flexed as they became alight with a brilliant golden glow. Sparks of electricity raced up and down his thick fingers. Slowly, the Blitzardi lifted his hand towards the girl. Before she could react, Kedzuel flashed behind her in a bolt of lightning and a crack of thunder. The Blitzardi clapped his hand upon her shoulder. Gillian twitched and flinched as she felt the volt of energy racing through her body. A horrible sound of hissing and popping came from Kedzuel's touch as the Blitzardi kept his grip upon her. Gillian lifted her head back, her mouth opening in a silent cry. As Kedzuel's grip loosened, her body fell limp and she toppled to the floor. Swiftly he caught her before she hit it and gently laid her down upon her side. At last, the glowing cords tied to her head vanished in an explosion of cyan, speckled light, each dot slowly rising towards the ceiling only to fade away as if they never were. Dripping freely from her nose and splashing upon the metallic floor into dark red pools, was her blood.

"_**Connection lost…"**_

"Thank goodness," the Emperor said with a sigh of relief. "I don't suppose you could tell me anything else about Grayson that I need to know?"

"_**I am working on that…"**_

The Blitzardi let loose a frustrated rumble and wagged his head.

"Of course you are. I can never get a straight answer from you."

"_**That would be cheating."**_

Kedzuel grunted, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand. In his agitation, sparks of golden electricity raced up his curved horns and his pointed ears twitched. Kedzuel slammed a fist against the metallic plating in the hangar with such a force, it not only dented the plating with a Blitzardi-paw sized dent, but it knocked loose a few tubes as well. The hissing sound of steam raced out from the tubes as above them filled with white clouds.

"Well, Takhisis, you'll have to explain this to her," he barked seemingly to nothing at all, leaving Alan more than confused by why he was all of a sudden yelling. "Because I won't. You stand there and do nothing, and we have to do everything. Not this time, you high and mighty bitch. Not this time!"

"_**You know I cannot…"**_

"Don't give me that excuse," said Kedzuel. "You allowed this to continue just like you allowed him in this dimension. You made us to clean after your messes, but I won't be your janitor. I am already taxed as it is."

There was a silence, cold, still, inside of his mind. Then, the will that guided the cosmos itself finally came to a consensus with a sorrowful, and beleaguered sigh. For just a moment, he thought he heard a shivering sob from the connection he held with the Array.

"_**I will explain it to her."**_

"That's better," said Kedzuel. "I have more troubling matters, I don't need this either. Neither does Alan. I think after we're done here, you should come down here and at least say 'thank you'."

"_**Thank you…"**_

Then, he felt a release from his mind and he took in a deep, heavy breath. Kedzuel returned his eyes upon Alan and shrugged.

"Never become a Technomancer," he said. "A lot of times it's more trouble than it's worth. Because you have a two way direct line to the creator of... everything and the only relief you ever get from it... is you can complain about what a shitty job She sometimes does."

After finally being able to relieve any frustrations he had with his Maker, Kedzuel glanced up to the steam leaking out from the ceiling.

"I am very sorry, Alan" he said. "I should have one of my technicians repair that." He began to cradle Gillian gently in his arms. "I'll have to take her to one of my physicians. This injury requires special treatment and we know how to treat it. I can only hope she didn't damage anything important up there. Downloading the knowledge and power of a deity who's been collecting said knowledge for over 15 billion years, even if it is to find her father; it will cook her brain. That's why a Technomancer cannot draw in more than they can handle. We can stay Connected because we learned how to do it and we've been doing it for... well, since the second generation stars came into existence, fuelled by the death shrouds of the first stars. Your kind are still very new to this, even more so now than ever all because of what the Forerunners did to strip you of your grand past. My people only gave you a leg up, but not much after that until we discovered you found a cure to the Flood. I always thought of my people and the People of Erde-Tyrene as friendly neighbours rather than master and student."

Alan sighed. He didn't like the idea of leaving Gillian behind in an unfamiliar environment, but on the other hand he didn't see what they could do for her in _Serenity_'s own infirmary. He nodded to the Kethosi Emperor.

"Do what you can for her," he said.

"Thank you," nodded Kedzuel, gently carrying Gillian to the cargo ramp. "I'll send Megellan to repair the damage before you go." As he reached the top of the cargo ramp, he turned to look back at Alan with the upmost sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Alan, but I promise you the answers are coming soon, for both you and Gillian."

He then departed, moving as quickly but as gently as he could. Alan was left alone, with only the sound of hissing steam for company. He slumped onto the floor, holding his head in his hands, with no idea of how he was going to explain this to his crew when they returned.


	10. Heart of the Swarm

**Heart of the Swarm**

No-one spoke on the _Serenity_'s bridge as Alan had informed them of the incident with Gillian. The repairs had been completed, and they were now en-route to the Mulla Xul system in the Nimah Cluster, a journey that would take them a few hours, and on the way Alan had told them the whole story. All of them looked horrified, none more so than Nicole, whose shock was now giving way to anger.

"I don't believe this…" she snarled. "How can you let that happen to her?!"

"It's not like I told her to hook up to the Array and fry her brain!" replied Alan, indignant. "What else could I have done? I'm no Technomancer, I couldn't bail her out."

Nicole just shook her head, holding a hand up to it. "I just can't believe she'd do something so stupid…"

"She must have gotten desperate," mused Dorva.

"I wanna know why she couldn't find Paul in the Array," said Alan, looking grim. "If I understand it right, you go back to it - well, rather her - when you die. For whatever reason though, Paul's not there, and I think Kedzuel has an idea as to why."

"What makes you say that?" asked Call from the pilot's controls.

"You should have seen the look on his face when Kahlee Sanders told us what had happened," Alan explained. "If the Illusive Man had been in the room there and then, Kedzuel would likely have ripped his head off and shoved it up his arsehole." He leaned back on the co-pilot's console, drumming his fingers. "I've the feeling he's going to explain it all to Gillian when she wakes up."

"If she wakes up…" sighed Nicole.

"Don't you start saying things like that," Rachel squeaked, looking almost on the verge of tears. "Everything's gonna be shiny. She's with the Precursors; she'll be up and about before we know it…" In spite of her statements, Alan noticed that she sounded more confident than she looked.

"All we can do is hope for the best… and prepare for the worst," sighed Alan. "Let's just focus on Wrex's job. Apparently I get to speak with his authority, so hopefully this Aralakh Company won't give us any trouble."

Nothing more needed to be said on the matter, so the crew decided to return to their stations. All except José, who hung back, leaning on the console as Alan settled himself into the co-pilot's chair.

"You ever been a dad, boss?" he asked, unexpectedly. Alan turned to look at him, arching his brows.

"No," he said. "I blew every chance I had with girlfriends even when I was human." He sighed, closing his eyes. "The last woman I was close to wanted a family, kids, everything, but my mutations had gotten to the point where those were things I couldn't give her. I don't know what would happen if I tried for kids, certainly not to the woman involved. One of the last things I heard her say was that she wanted to be with me anyway, even knowing that." He had a rather morose expression on his face. "That was a woman I would have walked into Hell and back for."

"Man, you've missed out," said José, in what almost sounded like pity. "Having kids changes you, that's a fact. After my unit died, I never thought I'd give a shit about anyone again. When I got the job on board _Serenity_, I was gonna go through the job, not get close to anyone again. After me and Rachel started hanging out more, though…" He couldn't help but smile a little. "Well, you know the rest. Inara and Nathan have changed everything, and if it came down to the galaxy or the kids, I'd choose the kids every time." He turned to Alan. "You feel the same way about Gillian, right? We all do."

Alan sighed. "She's got no-one else now," he said. "I thought… maybe when all this is over… I'd see about adoption or something. If not me, then someone on this crew."

"Maybe she'd be better off with someone with a less dangerous home life," Call chimed in. Both Alan and José just looked at her, staying silent, and Call shrugged. "Well, I thought it was funny…"

"She's got a point, amigo," said José, turning back to Alan with a sly grin. "_Serenity_ ain't no place to raise a kid. Even Rachel would agree with me on that."

"If we're quite finished with this line of thought," said Alan, shaking his head, "go tell Nicole that I want both of you ready for the drop. We're going down to meet with Aralakh Company. Keep in mind we're dealing with heavily armed and probably very irritable Krogans, so be on your best behaviour."

"Alright, keep your wig on," said José. "We'll meet you in the cargo bay, boss." He stepped out of the bridge, leaving Alan to rub his claws through his hair. Call looked across at him, a grin spreading over her face.

"So if you're gonna be adopting a kid," she said, "does this mean I can have a dog?"

"If we make it through this," muttered Alan, now feeling irritable, "I'll buy you all the breeds of dog that exist."

0

A few hours later, the _Serenity_ was descending through the atmosphere of the planet Utukku, a largely rocky world with extreme temperatures and violent weather. The ship shook lightly as Alan, José and Nicole, strapped into their armour, made their final preparations.

"Any updates, Alan?" Nicole asked as she readied her assault rifle and slid a large knife into a holster on her boot.

"Our backup's waiting for us at the drop point," replied Alan, clipping the handle of his whip to his belt. He had managed to contact Aralakh Company on the short-wave bandwidths, and their leader knew they were on their way. "Aralakh Company are a bunch of Krogan commandos. Apparently they're a really accomplished unit."

"Wait…" muttered Nicole. "I think I heard something about them on the extranet a month ago. They liberated a colony from Batarian pirates. Did it really decisively too."

"Well, that's good to hear," shrugged Alan. "Other than that, there's been no word from a team of Krogan scouts since they went through the Rachni Relay."

"We're way out here for some bug hunt?" said José in disbelief. He had not been looking forward to another encounter with the Rachni, vividly remembering a shootout with them two years previously. "They should've stayed wiped out by the Krogan." He did some last minute checks of his beloved rifle 'Attila'. "It just don't make any sense, though. Shepard let the last queen go on condition that she disappear forever, right? So why's that queen riskin' everything to start a war?"

"You're telling me she let a Rachni queen go?" exclaimed Nicole, shaking her head and now visibly trembling; she had read the stories of the Rachni like most others in the galaxy. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"No," replied Alan. "Shepard's reasoning was sound. Let's just be ready for anything though." He slid his revolver into its holster and grabbed his reptile-shaped helmet from the locker.

The _Serenity_ soon touched down on the floor of a rocky canyon, flanked on either side by high walls. As the cargo ramp lowered and the three soldiers stepped out, they saw the Krogan camp immediately, patrolled by a number of waiting Krogans in black armour and carrying large shotguns. The exception to this, however, was one Krogan in gleaming silver combat armour, his skin very smooth compared to other Krogans and his headplate more fragmented, as if it hadn't fully formed yet. He was giving orders to a pair of Krogans stood just before him. With a start, Alan realised where he had seen this young-looking Krogan before.

"Grunt?!" he called, as the team approached the camp. Upon hearing his name mentioned, the young tank-born Krogan, with his gleaming blue reptile's eyes, pushed his way past the other Krogans. Alan had first met him on the _Normandy_ three months ago, and had sparred with him a couple of times after that on Tuchanka. He had been part of the team that had helped Shepard to defeat the Collectors.

"Tyler!" Grunt boomed as he approached. He laughed loudly as he gave Alan a friendly slap on the shoulder that almost knocked the mutant off his feet.

"What are you doing here?" asked Alan, nursing his shoulder.

"I could ask you the same question," said Grunt. "Don't you have a war to fight?"

"Yeah," said Alan, "but Wrex doesn't strike me as the type you say 'no' to when he's got a job offer for you."

"Yeah," nodded Grunt. "He's got bigger problems, all right. It's why I'm out here running Aralakh Company." He looked back at the rest of his squad. "They're tough, think they're invincible. Reckless, but effective."

"Sounds familiar," chuckled Alan, winking at his own team-mates, both of whom just rolled their eyes. "So how did you go from being new and unproven to your own command?"

"Wasn't easy," replied Grunt. "When Wrex put Aralakh Company together, he needed a leader who represented the future of our species. Thanks to Shepard, I completed my Rite of Passage on Tuchanka and became a part of Clan Urdnot. I was an equal. And being the strongest, I was chosen to lead this honoured company."

"I bet some didn't like a tank-bred Krogan being in charge," said Alan.

"I collected a few scars earning my place here," nodded Grunt. "These Krogans respect me."

"Well, Shepard's report said you were a pain in the arse," smirked Alan, "but if your Krogans are half the soldier you are, we might just make it out of here."

"Pity Shepard isn't here," chuckled Grunt. "She can crack heads with the best of 'em. Still, you'll do as a substitute." He walked away from Alan and looked down the canyon. "Hard to believe this might be Rachni. Sounds crazy, but a chance to face the old enemy is impossible to resist!" He looked so excited that Alan was sure he was going to punch something.

"We don't know if the Rachni are involved in this," said Alan carefully. "We're here to find the scouts. I didn't see any signs of activity during our approach."

"Agreed," muttered Grunt. "But this place smells wrong, like a bad wound. Our scans show the tunnels down there lead to a large central point. If we're lucky, it's a nest."

"Well, that sounds like fun," muttered Nicole sardonically. "Am I the only one here who doesn't like the idea of facing giant bugs?"

Grunt didn't say anything; instead he looked at Nicole with a vicious grin and chuckled darkly. Alan shook his head; the Krogan had no idea just how deep Nicole's phobia of bugs was, most people she cared about having been destroyed by the vicious insect spirits known as the Invae. With no further mention of this, Grunt turned back to his team.

"Aralakh Company," he barked, "move out!" He turned back to Alan. "The scout camp's just up ahead."

Soon the combined teams were heading down the canyon. All around them was eerily quiet, save for the humming sound of a light breeze. There was no vegetation, but the cries of alien birds swooping overhead was barely audible. They gave Alan the impression of vultures waiting for a meal.

"So what did you get up to when the Collectors were defeated?" Alan asked Grunt as they walked side by side.

"After I left the _Normandy_," sighed Grunt, "I spent most of my time on Tuchanka learning what it was to be Krogan. In the lab where I was created, the lessons were like fighting with practice weapons. They had no bite, no impact. I needed the blood and pain… I made mistakes, but I learned."

"Tell me more about this company," said Alan.

"Aralakh means 'eye of wrath'," Grunt explained. "We are named after the fierce Tuchanka sun. Wrex handpicked us from different clans to show a united Krogan. We were sent because we're the strongest."

"You up to speed on the Rachni?" asked Alan.

"Okeer insured I knew of them," said Grunt, referring to the mad Krogan warlord who had created him in the first place. "They are respected as an enemy. Everyone thought they were dead, defeated by the Krogans. Shepard proved that wrong. If they're here, my blood demands they die."

As they reached the remains of the scouts' camp, they were shocked by what they saw. The ground had dropped away beneath it, leaving only a few huts perched precariously on the edge of a steep drop.

"Dios mio…" José breathed. "What the hell happened here?"

"Looks like something dropped half the camp down a hole," replied Grunt, looking grim. "Their shuttle must have been lost as well. They weren't going anywhere." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We're here to find the Rachni and burn them out."

"Right, let's get going," said Alan, as the group pushed their helmets on their heads. "Watch your step."

"Right behind ya, Tyler," said Grunt, his own Claymore shotgun primed.

Alan, José and Nicole led the way into one of the buildings, finding it utterly deserted. However, as they approached the next room, the whole hut suddenly tipped over onto one side, going right over the edge of the cliff. Grunt shouted a warning, but it was too late and could barely be heard over the sound of scraping metal. Finally, with a sickening jolt it slid down the cliff, crashing into a rocky outcropping halfway down. The group was thrown bodily from it and plummeted down to the floor of the pit. Alan felt as if all of his bones were being smashed as he hit the dusty floor. When the world finally stopped moving, he struggled to push himself up. Miraculously, none of the group were hurt save for light bruises, and his companions staggered to their feet, faces seething behind their visors.

"Everyone alright?" he barked.

"Yeah, somehow…" groaned Nicole.

"Still in one piece… I think…" muttered José.

"Tyler!" Grunt's voice echoed all around them as he called from the top of the pit. "You in one piece?!"

"Looks like we're all okay!" called Alan. "Keep in radio contact!"

"On our way!" called Grunt in reply.

Nervous and alert, the group at the bottom of the pit turned to see what lay before them. One end of the pit opened out into a chasm which led to what looked like a tunnel entrance. Over by the entrance, Nicole was the first to spot a figure lying on the ground, completely immobile. Close to his body was a silver and yellow weapon which Alan recognised to be a Firestorm – a model of flamethrower the Krogans often used.

"Got something," she called, running up to the body. Alan and José followed, and soon discovered that it was a Krogan body, undoubtedly one of the scouts they had been sent to find.

"Grunt," Alan said into his commlink, "got a body of a scout here. Been dead a few days."

"_Yeah?"_ was Grunt's nonchalant reply. _"If he has his weapon, grab it. He won't need it anymore."_

"Don't mind if I do, amigo," muttered José, as he holstered Attila and picked up the weapon. Fortunately there seemed to be plenty of fuel left in the tanks. As he picked himself up again, he saw the entrance to the cave, but now that he was getting a closer look, he was able to see that it was covered with what looked like webbing, as black as ebony and having the appearance more of thick cables than silk.

"Woah…" he muttered. "I'd hate to think of the bugs that built that."

"Don't talk to me about bugs…" muttered Nicole. She kept looking around her anxiously, as if expecting the Invae to drop on them at any minute. Alan couldn't say that he blamed her; the webbing was bringing back memories of both Chicago and the Collector ship.

"José, take point," he said. "Fry any of this webbing we come across. Use your rifle for any enemy units and save the fuel."

"Got it," nodded José. He squeezed the trigger of the Firestorm and spread a sheet of flames over the webbing. It proved brittle to the touch of fire, and it quickly crumbled away, revealing a vast tunnel leading deeper underground. After burning away more webbing the group found themselves walking along a narrow path, which led around an underground lake. The cave was dimly-lit by fungi spread around the rocky pillars.

"This darkness is gonna complicate things," muttered Nicole, as she and José switched on their flashlights. Alan, thanks to the low-light vision granted by his reptilian eyes, could see perfectly.

"Agreed," he said. "Everybody be ready."

Hardly daring to breathe, the group circumnavigated the lake. As they did so, however, Alan thought he saw something, about the size of a small dog, scuttling out of a small side-tunnel coated with webbing. It moved too quickly for him to make out clearly, however.

"Did anybody catch that?" muttered Nicole, flashing her torch all over the place, trying to spot the creatures again.

"Don't worry," said José, keeping the flamethrower tightly clenched in his hands. "I got ya covered."

The surprises did not end there, for as they rounded a corner, they saw what looked like a number of large bulbous pods on the ground. They were a silver colour, so at first Alan thought they were metallic, but he then saw them glisten with a mucus-like substance, and they softly pulsated under the light of the torches.

"What the hell are those?" asked José.

"I don't know…" Alan murmured, though he had a sinking feeling he had an idea what they were. He carefully approached one, keeping his gun trained on it. As he got close, he suddenly heard a sickly rattling sound coming from within them, and a dim red glow. He barely had time to jump backwards as the pod suddenly exploded with a dim thud, sending its gooey contents everywhere.

"Oh come on…" José said in disbelief. "Really?!" Without waiting for any instruction from Alan, he unleashed the flamethrower upon them. At the touch of the flames each pod burst open. Aside from the ooze, all of them appeared to be empty. Treading carefully up a rocky ramp, their torchlight shone on more pods, but even more disconcertingly there were several dark metallic spikes sticking out of the rock walls, and cables strewn everywhere.

"Reaper tech?" José mused, even as he set to work destroying the pods.

"Maybe," replied Alan. Around a corner, through an ankle-deep luminescent pool and another wall of webbing, the cave widened out, becoming a vast underground space, with large stalagmites sticking out of the floor. Dropping down from the ledge, the group carefully stepped into the vast space.

It was then that they heard an odd chirruping noise, coming from a ledge on the other side of the cave. Looking up, they saw the cause of the sound, and when she did so Nicole thought she was going to faint on the spot. It looked like a large insect, about the size of a small car, coated in glistening black metal lined by blue lights. Two large cannons were welded onto its back, and it crept down to the floor of the cave on four large spider's legs. A single gleaming blue optic served as its eye, and on its front were mounted three large fleshy sacs which quivered, as if something was moving inside them. The creature emitted a high-pitched shriek as the cannons suddenly fired upon the crew with the force of heavy artillery shells, forcing them to dive for cover.

"Grunt, we got company!" yelled Alan into his commlink as he crouched behind a low rock. As if to make matters worse, the howling of human Husks could be heard, and a number of them jumped out of caves higher up the walls to ambush the group.

"_Light 'em up, Tyler!"_ barked Grunt in reply.

"That thing supposed to be a Rachni?!" bellowed José as he returned fire with his rifle, bursting the sacs on the front of the living tank. When he did so, several smaller insect-like robots burst out and started crawling towards them, doubtless the offspring of this creature. Now that José had mentioned it, the creatures did look like horribly twisted, perverse mutations of the Rachni, and Alan had a good idea as to what had caused the mutations.

"Good eye!" called Alan, firing several Inferno rounds into the crowd of Husks. They exploded into huge fireballs after a set distance, incinerating most of them. The rest were gunned down quickly, but the insect-tank took more rounds to finally go down, its body disintegrating into a pulpy mass as it fell with a death shriek. The swarms of infant insects went down easily enough, either with a single bullet or by being crushed underfoot.

"Those Rachni just aren't right," muttered José, shaking his head.

"Grunt," said Alan into his commlink. "Rachni presence confirmed. Indoctrinated, modified and very dangerous."

"_Finally, something to kill!"_ hissed Grunt. _"Nothing here yet though. Lost a Krogan to a sinkhole. Bad way to go."_

"He's enjoying this way too much…" said Nicole grimly. "The nest has to be here somewhere… These Reaper… Rachni… things are protecting something; I'm sure of it."

Flamethrower at the ready, José led the way along a rocky outcropping, another vast lake stretching into the distance to their left. Looking up, his eyes couldn't help but widen, as he saw what looked like huge metallic legs stretching down from the ceiling, the same dark metal colour with blue lights as the Reaper-fied Rachni (later to be termed 'Ravagers' by the UNSC). They gave him the feeling that some vast monster was sleeping there, and they were walking right towards it.

"Reapers have really messed this place up," he muttered.

"Agreed," said Alan. "Let's find out why."

The ledge led to another tunnel, lined not only with the fungi they saw earlier, but also a number of the metal plates embedded in the walls. Perhaps Alan was imagining it, but he was sure he could hear faint, mocking whispers coming from the metal. Suddenly there was a loud shrieking noise and the cave trembled. The ceiling cracked open, and the group barely managed to dive into the cave as rocks fell right where they had been standing, completely cutting off their exit.

"Damn, that was close!" José breathed, all three of the group panting for breath.

"We'll have to find another way out of here," Alan barked. "Come on!" The cave beyond was even darker than the previous caves, with no sign of illumination anywhere.

"_What was that noise, Tyler?"_ Grunt asked over the commlink. _"Sounded bad."_

"Cave-in," panted Alan. "We're alright."

"_Good,"_ replied Grunt. _"Didn't wanna have to dig ya out."_

"Oh, you hurt my feelings, Grunt," Alan muttered sardonically. Once again José took point, incinerating more pods as the Ravager young skittered all over the cave walls. Here and there the group saw the bodies of the Krogan scouts, all of them now beyond help.

"_Tyler,"_ came Grunt's voice suddenly as the group treaded down a rocky ramp above another pool. _"I know what happened to the scouts."_

"What did you find?" asked Alan.

"_They got hit hard,"_ was Grunt's grim reply. _"The leader ordered them to carry weapons deep into the caves. He knew the next team would need help."_

"They died making sure we could make it to the central chamber," said Alan, his resolve becoming more hardened.

"Let's just hope they had more of these burner units," said José. "I'm running out of fuel here."

In another of the caves, a Husk tried to ambush Alan as he stepped into it, but a burst of rifle fire from Nicole instantly brought it down. She then noticed a faint blinking light coming from a small side-tunnel, and looking down it she found the body of another scout. The light was coming from his Omni-Tool, which had been set to act as a beacon. Switching it on, she found that there was a message on it.

"Looks like a last message," she sighed. "He's asked that it be delivered to an Asari named Ereba on the Citadel."

"Okay, take a copy of it," said Alan. "Might as well let her hear one last message from him."

After Nicole had done so, the team continued their trek down the tunnels, which seemed to stretch for miles. The deeper they went inside the greater the signs of Reaper corruption, until Alan was sure that he could hear a choir of voices seeming to come from the walls themselves. Shaking his head, determined to continue on, he led the group into another vast chamber, consisting of several rocky pathways criss-crossing over a deep pool, with a number of shallow rock-pools being linked by them. Here the Reaper forces came in abundance, reinforced by strange Reaper devices that strengthened their shielding. Even as their guns fired and cut down the Husks and Ravagers blocking their path, Alan was sure more than ever that Nicole was right in her theory that the Reaper forces were protecting something.

"Rachni dead!" called Nicole as she blasted apart another of the walking tanks with a well-placed grenade, the explosion consuming its young.

"Keep the pressure up!" Alan called, pressing forward, only to dive for cover as another Ravager opened fire at him. "Stay low! Don't let it get a bead on you!"

As another group of Reapers succumbed to the combined might of the three commandos, Alan spotted a gruesome sight. One of the Krogan scouts had been impaled on a large stalagmite, the spike coated in the unfortunate victim's blood. At the base of the stalagmite was a fuel canister for the flamethrower which – José was thankful to discover – was still nearly full of fuel. More pods lined the walls, some of which burst open to reveal more of the Ravager young, but José bathed each field of eggs they came across in flame. He knew that they could not afford to take chances by leaving even one of these creatures alive.

"_We must be getting close, Tyler,"_ Grunt said as they continued on. _"Some heavy fighting here. Tough bastards!"_

"Casualties?" asked Alan.

"_It's fine,"_ snarled Grunt. _"Krogan fight better when angry!"_

Working their way along the rocky pathways, more eggs blocking their progress, the group reached a waterfall cascading over the rock. Hopping across the rocks led to more eggs on the other side.

"Fucking hell…" muttered José. "They must be breedin' an army of those things. It all adds up. They reproduce crazy fast, and out here no-one knows about it until it's too late."

"I agree," said Nicole, casting her flashlight around the tunnels that lined the walls of the cavern. "And they're throwing everything they've got at us so we don't reach the nest."

A series of rock ledges led up the side of the waterfall, and at the top another tunnel led deeper down. All of a sudden there was the sound of heavy gunfire coming from up ahead. One wall of the tunnel opened out, revealing another pathway on the opposite side of a deep chasm. Grunt and his soldiers were pinned down by more Reaper forces, blasting away at the Ravagers.

"_Tyler!"_ Grunt barked. _"We're blocked, and getting overrun!"_

"I'm on it!" Alan yelled. He, José and Nicole all opened fire from the higher ledge, helping to take some of the pressure off the Krogan. As soon as he saw an opening, Grunt actually ran along the ledge, and somehow, with a heavy roar, he managed to pick up one of the Ravagers over his head and throw it down the chasm! Their retreat was blocked, however, by a metallic door.

Dashing through into the next chamber, Alan found the other side of the door. In the centre of the small chamber was a raised dais, with another Reaper artefact, much like the ones that had been reinforcing the shielding of the Reaper forces. Thinking of nothing else he could do, Alan shot at it with his revolver, until it crumbled away. Thankfully its destruction caused the doors to slide open, one up on a ledge and the other behind him, and within seconds Aralakh Company had filed through the door on the ledge, dropping into the chamber. Grunt was the last through, shooting down another Ravager before rejoining the others.

"Thanks, Tyler," he breathed. "That wasn't webbing stopping us. It was Reaper tech."

"We ran into it too," said Alan.

"The Rachni have backed off for now," said Grunt, "but they can smell our wounds. Any worthy enemy would regroup and finish us soon."

"We're close, Grunt," said Alan, using this brief moment of calm to check his weaponry. "Those barriers were protecting whatever's down that passage." He pointed to the newly-opened passageway, which Grunt peered down. The cave beyond stretched even deeper, though faint sounds could be heard echoing around the walls.

"We'll dig in here," barked Grunt. "Kill anything that moves, buy you some time."

"Good luck," said Alan, as Grunt passed him to return to his unit.

"I don't need luck while I've got ammo," Grunt replied, smirking. "Krogan, get ready!"

As the Krogan forces entrenched themselves, Alan and his companions headed down into the tunnel. A short way inside, they came to what looked like a dead-end, but there was a narrow gap in one of the walls that was large enough to crawl through. Nicole sighed as she followed Alan inside.

"What is it with you and dragging me on missions that involve giant killer bugs?" she asked wearily.

"We're almost through this," Alan replied. "Keep it together. Besides, I thought you might consider shooting bugs therapeutic. You know, face your fears, and all that?"

"You'd make a lousy psychiatrist…" Nicole grunted as she and Alan emerged from the other side. As she looked out over the cavern that stretched before them, however, her jaw fell open. "What is that?!" she breathed.

The cavern was a vast space, lined with jagged rocky pillars that stretched all over. Each pillar was lined with the metallic substance and other Reaper tech, and in the middle of the pillars, Alan could just see something very large restrained by the same webbing that they had seen all over the cave. As Alan watched, he saw it move; it was alive, and awake!

"Grunt," Alan said into the commlink. "We've located the central chamber!"

"_Good!"_ replied Grunt. _"We've got your back!"_

However, even as Grunt said this, the desolating war cries of the Reaper forces could be heard all around them, and the group were forced to jump off the ledge they were standing on, landing hard in the rock pools below. Husks and Ravagers swarmed out of the walls, opening fire upon them.

"I think we pissed them off!" yelled José, diving for cover behind the rocks.

"This is it!" Alan yelled. Rifle fire burst out all around them, the Reaper's own plasma bolts narrowly missing them. The Reaper forces spread all around them, trying to swarm them, and for each one that was shot down two seemed to replace them. Nicole fought like a woman possessed, roaring as she gunned down the twitching Ravagers.

"You want some of this?!" she yelled. "Come on!"

"Keep it up, people!" Alan yelled as he fired his Inferno shells, flushing out the skulking Reaper artillery. The Ravagers' own weaponry hit their cover with the force of a cannon blast, forcing them to dive out of the way as the rocks cracked and were blasted into rubble. At long last, the final wave of Reaper forces went down, and the ground seemed to shake as a high-pitched wail rang through the caves.

_"Tyler!"_ Grunt called into the commlink. _"The Rachni are backing off! Whatever spooked them won't last. Finish the job!"_

"Copy that," panted Alan. The group returned to the centre walkway, leading to the entangled mass that Alan had spotted before. He was convinced that this was what the Reapers were guarding. As they approached the struggling form and got a better look at it, Alan's mouth fell open, his eyes widening behind the amber eye-slots on his helmet.

He recognised the gigantic insectoid creature before him, trapped by the Reapers' dark webbing. Its immense, bulbous carapace was a soft blue-purple colour, several glowing eyes lining the sides of the cone-shaped head, a number of horns spreading out from the head giving it an almost star-shaped appearance. A number of mandibles at the front of the head clicked open and closed, and all of its eyes regarded Alan carefully. A set of tentacles growing from its back tried to whip about, but were restrained by the webbing. Alan remembered the images he had seen from Shepard's reports; this was undoubtedly a Rachni Queen.

"Si… lence…" a growling, rasping voice suddenly hissed out of the darkness. Alan's heart jolted as he looked around, seeing the bodies of several Krogan scouts strewn about, most of them strapped to the walls. He recalled something Shepard had mentioned; the Queen was only able to communicate telepathically, usually by controlling the bodies of the dying. These Krogans were beyond help, only fit now to serve as the Queen's voice.

"What the hell?!" José barked, looking all around him. Alan had to admit that he could barely contain his terror at what he was seeing. The reports from Shepard had sounded gruesome enough, but mere descriptions could not possibly have prepared him mentally for what he was seeing.

"The…" the chorus of Krogan voices breathed, "maddening sour golden note has ceased."

"Golden note…" Alan breathed, realising where he had heard that term used before. He turned to the Queen. "Good God… You're the same Queen Shepard released from Noveria, aren't you?!" he called.

"Shepard…" the voices responded, the Queen peering at him intently. "You are an ally of Shepard?"

"Yes," Alan replied.

"Then you see before you the last Queen," the growls of the Krogan voices replied. "We listen for the children… They are silent… hollow. The machines come, and take them to war. They die alone, silent, far away."

"The Reapers did this to you?" asked Alan, though he had the feeling he really didn't need to.

"Yes," the Queen breathed. "The sour golden note of the machines is everywhere. It is the same note that drove us to war so many centuries ago."

"Shepard let you go that day," said Alan. "You promised her that you wouldn't interfere anymore. The Rachni were supposed to disappear!"

"We remember," the chorus replied. "We kept our promise, retreated back through the Relay." As the Queen spoke, Nicole checked one of the Krogan bodies that was speaking and twitching, but it was completely unresponsive to her touch. "We started a new home. Beautiful children. Harmony." The chorus of voices became more fierce and bitter. "But… the machines came. They heard our song. Their bell-like shriek of sour golden notes drowned us out!"

"They can't hurt you anymore," said Alan boldly.

"Yes…" the Queen's voices hissed. "We… understand."

"Can you still feel the Reapers?" Alan asked cautiously. "Can they influence you?"

"We hear the machines," the Queen responded. "But they cannot control us. Remove this last shackle and we are free." Her immense head tilted towards another Reaper control device, like the one that had controlled the doors earlier.

However, up above them, the sounds of many Ravager shrieks could be heard. Dust fell from the ceiling as they began to shoot their way through the rock, their artillery fire pounding all around them. The Queen tilted her head towards the ceiling.

"What?!" the voices cried desperately. "The children return. They will destroy us all! Release us!"

"_We're getting movement here…"_ Grunt hissed on the commlink. _"A lot of movement."_

"Copy that, Grunt…" said Alan, before turning back to the Rachni Queen. "Are you capable of fighting the Reapers?!"

"We hate the machines," the voices snarled. "We will fight for our unborn children! Release us!"

"She's a mess!" José exclaimed. "She needs too much time to escape!" The pounding of the guns grew louder, and the Queen released a soft wail from her mandibles as she turned to hear her dead children coming to claim her.

"_Tyler, we're out of time!"_ Grunt was yelling. _"We stay here, Aralakh Company dies! Is that clear?!"_

Alan took a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to say was one of the hardest decisions he had ever had to make. It was not one he made lightly; he didn't want Grunt to lose his unit, but on the other hand he didn't think he could condemn an entire race to extinction. He wondered if this was the same dilemma Shepard had faced all those years ago…

"Listen up!" he barked. "Aralakh Company holds the Rachni off while the Queen escapes!" He turned back to the Queen. "We'll buy you some time!" He returned to his commlink. "Grunt, fall back to our position and lead us out!"

"_Damn you, Tyler!"_ Grunt bellowed. _"I'm leaving my team. On my way!"_ Alan knew that Grunt couldn't refuse the order, given that he was acting on Wrex's authority, but he was sure he could hear the young Krogan's hearts breaking.

"Alan, you sure about this?!" asked Nicole, readying her rifle.

"That's an order!" Alan barked in reply. "She's too valuable an asset to lose!" He raised his revolver and shot the control device. Instantly the webbing restraints crumbled away. With a shriek, the Queen dropped onto the floor, landing on her immense legs, her tentacles writhing. Immediately she began to turn with immense footfalls, marching as quickly as her wounded body would allow towards the other end of the cave.

"Now get us out of here!" Alan said into his commlink. As he said this, a heavy explosion blasted away part of the wall from the other side. Standing there was Grunt, carrying a portable rocket launcher, waving his arm for the others to follow him. The quartet ran for their lives as the Ravagers swarmed all around them, their cries echoing around the walls and creating a cacophony that almost deafened the group. Drawing his shotgun, Grunt blasted one away that had tried to block them.

In a narrow tunnel, the group were forced to hide, finding to their dismay that the path was blocked by a large group of Ravagers. According to Grunt, this was the only way out, and it was now blocked. Alan closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing as he readied his weapon; he didn't know if he would survive this fight, but he had to try.

"The exit's down that path!" Grunt suddenly barked. "I'll hold them off!" Alan was about to argue, but Grunt cut him off. "Get outta here, Tyler!" His eyes were narrowed, as if he was trying to stop himself from lashing out at Alan. "Don't let my team die for nothing," he finished, in a much quieter tone.

Alan didn't know what to say; he felt terrible for giving the order for Grunt to leave his team behind, but he couldn't see any other way, not without sacrificing another valuable ally. He and Grunt peered at each other, until finally Alan acquiesced.

Grunt stood, watching as Alan and his companions ran for the exit. Once he was sure they were safe, he turned to watch the swarming Ravagers coming towards them, trying to cut off the escape.

"My turn…" he growled, readying his shotgun. Feeling the thrill of the battle coursing through his veins, he charged straight at the creatures, crushing one of their young underfoot and cutting two of them down with shotgun blasts. One swarmer tried to latch itself onto his back, but he quickly threw it off and dashed it against a rock, while blasting away another Ravager that had tried to overrun him. Two more went down with shotgun fire as he struggled on, until he felt the claws of one strike his back, sending him sprawling to the floor and the shotgun spinning away from him.

With a roar, he pulled a large hammer off his back and swung it hard, smashing the head of another Ravager. He then drove the handle of the hammer into the head of another that had crawled up behind him. His arms ached, sweat poured down him, but he continued to fight on, pounding any Rachni that got too close.

Finally, even the hammer was taken away from him, and as another Ravager tried to crush him, Grunt dug his hands into the egg sac and hoisted it until its struggling legs no longer touched the ground. With a great war cry, he charged straight forward, sending himself and his attacker flying over the cliff edge before them.

This was his reason for being… This was why he was created. He was created to fight for the Krogan people, and to die for them. Now, in the darkness, surrounded by these hideous mockeries of the ancient enemy, he had never felt more alive.

0

Alan, José and Nicole raced out into the daylight, the _Serenity_ landing a short distance away from them. As soon as he had been able to, Alan had given Call the coordinates for a rendezvous point.

"We're the last ones out," he told Call, gasping for breath, every muscle in his body aching even as the group tried to reach the safety of the lowering cargo ramp.

"_Gotcha, Captain,"_ Call replied. _"Now let's get the hell out of here."_

Alan lagged behind the others, who reached _Serenity_ well before he did. None of them felt like celebrating what had happened in those terrible caves. They had succeeded in depriving the Reapers of another source of reinforcements, but at a terrible price. Aralakh Company was gone, and with them their valiant leader. Alan stood for a moment, not sure if he felt ready to face Wrex over this less-than-desirable outcome.

As he stood there in silence, though, a new sound reached his ears. Muffled footsteps could now be heard coming from the direction of the cave they had just left. Hardly daring to hope, Alan turned to see who was approaching. His heart leapt when he saw Grunt staggering out, covered from head to toe in Rachni blood, bruised, battered and wounded, but very much alive.

"Grunt!" Alan yelled, racing back down the dirt path towards the cave. He reached the exhausted Krogan and helped to support him, Nicole running down to do the same after she had heard Alan's yell.

"Anybody got something to eat?" Grunt gasped, making a brave effort to grin, even as his body finally seemed to give up trying to support itself. Alan and Nicole helped to pull him onto the _Serenity_, both feeling as if somebody very high up was watching over Grunt this day.


	11. Sins of the Fathers

**Sins of the Fathers**

_**2237, November 9 2560 (Military Time)\**_**Serenity**

En route back to the _Sh'lithra_, Alan found himself answering another call on the QEC. This time it was Kiryuu, who was looking very grave on the holographic viewer. Alan had of course filed his report on the incident on Utukku, and he was not looking to having to explain how he lost an entire Krogan unit.

"I've read your report on the Rachni situation," Kiryuu was saying. "This could have gotten complicated, fast." He folded his arms, shaking his head. "I just hope you know what you're doing, making a deal with the Rachni Queen. We got burned last time. I'm trusting your instincts on this one."

"We can count on her support, Kiryuu," said Alan, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

"I hope so," said Kiryuu. "But at least we cut the Reaper supply of new Rachni troops, and picked up some additional Krogan support. I'd call that a victory." He turned over to his side, as if speaking to someone Alan couldn't see. "Yes, yes, Wrex, I'm almost done…" He turned back to Alan. "Sorry, but I've got to go. I'm putting Wrex on the line. See you shortly."

Kiryuu's avatar disappeared as he stepped off the transmitter. Another holographic figure took his place; this time it was Wrex, who was looking very sour.

"Tyler," he said gruffly. "You made it outta there. Sounds like I missed a hell of a fight."

"What's up?" Alan asked. "If this is about Aralakh Company…"

"No, not just that," snarled Wrex, waving his hand irritably. "You know that 'private business' Victus wanted Shepard for?"

"Yeah," replied Alan.

"Well, turns out it was all to do with a gods-damned bomb his people had put there during the Rebellions!" Wrex spat. "As if the genophage wasn't enough! Had it gone off, it would've taken out a good chunk of an entire continent, and Cerberus had every intention of setting it off!"

"Cerberus again?" asked Alan, surprised. "What the hell were they hoping to accomplish?" 

"Hell if I know," shrugged Wrex. "Just like when they showed up on Sur'kesh. Anyway, if Victus' son hadn't sacrificed himself to stop it from detonatin', it would all have been over." He narrowed his eyes, arms folded. "It was bad enough the Turians planted the bomb back then, but the fact that the Primarch was too much of a coward to tell me about it… That's what really sticks in my craw."

"You know that we can't let the past rip us apart," said Alan firmly. "Not now!"

"Shepard said the same thing," Wrex grunted. He snarled, turning away. "I don't wanna speak ill of his son, not in light of what he did, but his bastard father's secrets were what got him killed. If Victus tries anything like that again, this alliance is over. I told him and Kedzuel that in no uncertain terms."

"Just bear with it, Wrex," said Alan. "This is hard for us all."

"I've got Reapers on my planet," Wrex rumbled, looking as if he was about to explode, "a bomb that almost blew up my planet, and if those two fail, the genophage to make sure we all go extinct anyway! I don't wanna hear about who has it hard!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," sighed Alan, throwing up his arms. "Sounds like you should have come with us after all. We could've used you."

"Too busy talkin' rather than fightin'," grunted Wrex. "Feeling restless. A war going on, people not telling me everything I need to know, and yet I'm stuck keepin' the peace and being expected to smile through it all." His eyes narrowed. "So Kiryuu was sayin' you'd made some kinda deal with the Rachni Queen, costing me Aralakh Company, as if I didn't have a big enough headache…" He paused for a moment, looking away, shaking his head. It was clear he didn't approve of Alan's actions, least of all how this deal had cost him some of his finest troops.

"Well, if they get outta hand again, it's your ass on the line," he stated.

"Understood," Alan replied. Wrex then tried to soften his expression, but the effect was unconvincing.

"I heard Grunt managed to get outta there with a few scratches," he said.

"You could say that," said Alan, shaking his head. "Right now we're trying to get him back to the _Shi'lithra_ before he eats his way through all our supplies." It was then that he was hit by a piece of a protein brick thrown at him from behind. He turned to see Grunt, now bandaged and cleaned, scowling at him from the dining table.

"Hope the Precursors have better food on their ships," he grunted.

"We'll get him back in the fight soon enough," Wrex chuckled. "I should get back to it. See you when you land." With that, he signed off.

"Sounds like you're in the doghouse," Grunt said as Alan walked past him.

"I don't blame him," sighed Alan. "I'm sorry about Aralakh Company, but it was my decision to make. I take full responsibility for it."

Grunt just made a dismissive gesture with his hand, and went back to his plate. Taking that as a sign that the conversation was over, Alan decided to head back to the bridge before things got more awkward.

"Tyler…" Grunt suddenly said, just as Alan was about to step through the door. Alan turned back, dreading the words that were to come from the Krogan's mouth.

"Tell Telek 'Heros," the Krogan said, "that he's got a hell of a krant. It would be my honour to match my own against his someday."

Alan stood for a moment, surprised by Grunt's words. "I'll tell him," was all he could think to say, before turning around and heading to the bridge. He had the funny feeling that he had dodged a bullet; he doubted things would have turned out the same, had any other Krogan been sat there, or they had been influenced by any other leader.

0

An hour later, Alan found himself back in the conference room, inside Kedzuel's grand palace on the _Shi'lithra_. He peered around at the other faces in the room – Kedzuel, Kiryuu, Otto and Shepard – trying to determine if any of them felt as exhausted as he did. It was slowly dawning on him that he had been on his feet for almost an entire day, and had fought until his muscles ached. Otto was pacing back and forth while the others kneeled on cushions, his brow furrowed.

"I had no idea that the Rebellions had left scars so deep…" he mused. "I hate to think of what would have happened had that bomb detonated. We cannot afford to lose any allies, not at this point."

"Wrex was really pissed," groaned Alan. "I don't think the loss of Aralakh Company has helped his mood, even if Grunt did make it out. I'd stay away from him for a while. Frankly I'm surprised Victus isn't in the infirmary, or worse."

"They'd better start cooperating soon," said Kedzuel gruffly. "We've wasted enough time trying to resolve everyone's petty squabbles. I'm getting tired of having to play peacemaker; why is it so hard for these people to realise that there are larger, more urgent matters that need their attention?!"

"I know the feeling," said Kiryuu, looking grim. "Right now, however, we should just be thankful that the bomb was defused and that the Rachni are on our side now. Of course, we can't do anything about any indoctrinated Rachni that were already shipped off Uttuku, so we'll have to deal with them as we come across them on the battlefield." He leaned on the table in the centre of the room, baring his teeth. "What bothers me more right now is Cerberus' involvement, in both the bomb and the attack on the STG base. I don't know what they hoped to achieve from such acts. Where are they getting all the reinforcements from? I'm sure they never had armies so vast before…"

"I only have theories," sighed Kedzuel. "It could be that the Illusive Man is so confident in his plans for that Prothean device that he's already preparing for post-Reaper civilisation. By weakening our position now, he ensures that humanity is truly on top when the dust settles. Perhaps he doesn't want a united galaxy to interfere in his plans for the Crucible." His expression turned darker. "Of course, there is one other explanation…"

Alan's brow furrowed. "You think they might be indoctrinated?"

"It cannot be ruled out," rumbled Kedzuel. "That way their actions would make sense to them, when really they're the whim of their masters. We know that Cerberus has been experimenting with Reaper technology, and they were supplying it to the Neru Pe Odissima a couple of months ago. Kahlee Sanders' account is also proof of their experiments into indoctrination. It's reasonable to assume that James Vega uncovered the results of those experiments on Mars, results which continue to hinder our efforts in this war. They have spent so much time around Reaper technology that it's bound to have taken its hold on them." He snarled, his ebony talons gripping the table so hard he was gouging claw marks into them. "The Illusive Man is a complete fool if he thinks he can control the powers of the Hydra!"

Alan shook his head, turning to Shepard. "You worked with the Illusive Man for a short time. Did he strike you as being capable of this? Was there ever a time he was a good person?" He knew Shepard's temporary alliance with Cerberus was a sore spot for her, but he felt he needed the perspective of someone with inside knowledge of the organisation. Rather than look annoyed - as was usually the case when someone brought up Shepard's connection to Cerberus – the Commander looked thoughtful.

"Well, he gave me what I needed to stop the Collectors," she mused. "Back then he wanted the best for humanity, and he had resources to spare. But then it became 'humanity first and at any cost', and that… That's a very different thing." She frowned, shaking her head. "But this? No… I never saw this coming from him."

Kedzuel peered at Shepard for a moment with the glowing eyes of a Technomancer, scratching his chin. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, certainly not if he approved of what Shepard had said. In the end, he nodded, seeming to be satisfied. His expression became one of sympathy as he looked at both Shepard and Alan, perhaps finally noticing how tired Alan looked.

"You look terrible," he said. "Why don't you both rest for a day or two?" He looked towards the door, the frown returning. "That's as much time as I'm prepared to give Doctor Solus on the matter of the genophage. After that, I'll have to step in. Let's just hope he can come up with something by then." He stood straighter, his expression relaxing a little. "I'd say we can adjourn this meeting. You'll all be contacted as soon as we have news of the genophage cure, one way or the other. Arbiter, I'd like to speak with you and Victus later about reinforcing some of the N7 teams engaging the Reapers. That will be all."

As Alan walked past him, however, the Blitzardi suddenly grabbed his shoulder. After everything that had happened, Alan was surprised to see that Kedzuel's expression was kind and sympathetic.

"Alan," he said gently. "I should have told you about this sooner, but Gillian's treatment succeeded. She was up and walking shortly before you returned. Any physical damage to her wasn't permanent. She could still be in shock, however; she hasn't spoken to anyone since the incident, and has barely acknowledged their presence."

"I appreciate it," sighed Alan. The chaos of the last few hours had distracted him from the welfare of his youngest crew member, but this reminder had brought back his concern full force. "So why hadn't Paul Grayson gone back to the Array when he died? I'm assuming Gillian knows now, whatever the reason was."

"Yes, she does…" sighed Kedzuel, his head hanging. "I had hoped that she would be spared from this, but…" He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, releasing a deep breath. "Her father couldn't return to the Array because of the Reaper technology. The moment he was implanted with it, his soul belonged to the Hydra. Upon his death, instead of returning to the Array as he should have, he became part of that monster…" He folded his arms, looking away from Alan with a grim expression. "He suffered the same fate as Saren Arterius, and trillions upon trillions of others before him. I've seen this happen too many times to count. The Hydra's depravity knows no bounds."

When he didn't look back at Alan again, the mutant turned to look where the Blitzardi was looking. He almost jumped when he saw Megellan now stepping into the room, the door to the onsen open. Outside, the weather looked grim. The Lengodo had his arm wrapped over Gillian's shoulder; the teenager looked thoroughly shell-shocked. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, her long hair lank, and she was trembling slightly. She really looked as if someone had come along and sucked all of the willpower out of her. Alan took a step towards her, and her head slowly turned in his direction, her bloodshot eyes peering into his own.

"Gillian…" Alan breathed, unable to know what to say to her. He tried to imagine what it was she was going through – to not only lose her father, but to have his very soul be stolen. However, he found it hard to do so. He wondered if the same fate had befallen Alistair the moment he was infected by the Far Realm's energy.

Before he could even think of another word, Gillian had run from Megellan's grip, and almost knocked the wind out of Alan with an embrace. Alan was only frozen in shock as this was completely unexpected behaviour; normally Gillian didn't want others touching her. Now, however, she was actually sobbing into his chest, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry…" she gasped, in-between sobs. "I couldn't find him…"

"It's alright…" Alan said softly, gently wrapping his own arms around her. "Shh, shh… It's not your fault."

For several minutes afterwards, there was silence in the conference room, broken up only by Gillian's weeping. Outside the palace, rain began to fall.

0

Over the day that followed, Alan and Shepard decided to take Kedzuel's advice and put themselves on some much-needed downtime. After the events of the previous day, the crews of both ships were feeling burnt out; both leaders knew that it wasn't a good idea to push their teams too hard. Alan in-particular knew that they needed to help Gillian recover from the shock of yesterday, so he and his team tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

Gillian, however, refused to leave _Serenity_, and spent most of her time in her cabin, even while the ship was docked at the Citadel. Nicole stayed with her, trying to take her mind off her troubles by trying to teach her how to cook, while the others explored the Citadel and stocked up on supplies. The nightclubs and entertainment districts were still online and extraordinarily busy, as many eager punters tried to drink their sorrows away or distract their minds from the ongoing war. Alan couldn't help but feel that those teeming crowds were in for a rude awakening, and would have to face reality soon.

Shepard, for her part, had received another letter from Kaidan, asking for another meeting at Huerta Memorial Hospital. Knowing that it was the last chance she would have before returning to Tuchanka, she headed there almost as soon as the _Normandy_ had docked at the Citadel. To her surprise, upon entering the waiting area, she came across another old comrade of hers; the Drell assassin Thane Krios, who had been part of the team that fought the Collectors. He had been diagnosed with Kepler's Syndrome, a medical condition that attacked the respiratory systems of the Drell due to too much moisture in the air, condemning the afflicted to a slow death. In spite of this, knowing that he only had a few months left to live, when Shepard met him he had seemed in good spirits, and had even promised to keep an eye on Kaidan while they were at the hospital.

"I am near the end of my life," he had said in that deep, raspy baritone voice. "It is a good time to be generous. Kepler's Syndrome has put most of my plans on hold."

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Shepard asked, as they both sat by the window, enjoying the view of the Presidium.

"At times," sighed Thane. "The oxygen transfer proteins don't form correctly. Your human equivalent would be haemoglobin. As a result, my blood is low in oxygen. No matter how much I breathe in, I get tingling, numbness… and that is the best of it. As for my brain, I cannot track the damage. I just experience dizziness from time to time."

"Do you know how much time you have left?" asked Shepard, her face full of sympathy.

"My doctors have given me another five to eight months," replied Thane. "That's enough time for me to get my affairs in order, make sure Kolyat is well provided for." His large dark eyes closed as he thought about his son; without Shepard's help he would never have been able to heal the rift with him, stop him from going down the dark path of an assassin just as he did.

"I'm back on the _Normandy_ on an important mission," said Shepard, thinking that being a part of it would help Thane to give him one last chance to prove his worth. "I could sure use you, and the Precursors may have a cure for your condition."

"I would not be as I was before," said Thane, shaking his head. "I need daily medical attention. If I know you, you will want to fight the Reapers somehow. You need the best at your side, and I am not at mine."

"You don't have to wrestle down Krogans and break their necks," said Shepard. "I'm sure we could find you lighter work."

"I am at peace with what I have done in my life, Shepard," said Thane. "There comes a time when one must rest from war and conflict. It is not your time, but it is mine." His tone suggested that this was his final word on the matter, so Shepard decided not to press the issue, despite her disappointment. She nodded and stood up.

"I wish the best for you, Thane," she breathed.

"And I for you," said Thane kindly as he stood up. "Do not grieve for me. I have good doctors, and my son visits regularly. Perhaps we will keep up via the extranet now that you are free. Until we meet again, Shepard." He and Shepard shook hands, a kind smile on the Drell's face.

Upon entering Kaidan's room, Shepard was surprised to find him out of bed and back in a blue UNSC uniform. His time in the hospital had done him good; aside from some faint bruising that still remained around his eye, there was no sign that he had been injured at all. He was peering out of the window when Shepard arrived, and he turned to her, a grin on his face.

"Hey, Shepard," he said. "If you came to spring me, you're late; I'm getting out soon."

"Good to hear," Shepard nodded.

"Maybe you already saw the vid," said Kaidan, "but I accepted Udina's offer." The news had reached Shepard from Admiral Hackett, and she knew that she could not have been more pleased with him.

"Spectre Kaidan Alenko…" she said. "That's a big deal."

"Only the second human Spectre," said Kaidan, blushing slightly. "It's humbling. Udina thinks they may put on a big ceremony, even with the war. He says a celebration would give folks something hopeful to latch onto."

"You ready to take on that responsibility?" asked Shepard.

"You set the bar pretty high," chuckled Kaidan, "but I'll do my best." He sighed, turning to look out of the window again as a cab raced by underneath the structure. "It's strange… On Mars, I should've died. A promotion from Anderson, Spectre status…" He shook his head, closing his eyes sadly. "These are terrible days… but I've been lucky." Shepard sidled up to him and wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning into him as they looked out of the window. Kaidan winced a little, still sore around that area, but made no protest.

"You're perfect for the job," the Commander said. "On Eden Prime, I could see there was something special about you. You're a good soldier."

"That means a lot," Kaidan replied, wrapping his own arm around her. "I'm happy; I wanna serve."

"I thought you might wanna join the _Normandy_," Shepard suggested.

"Yeah…" Kaidan breathed. "I have thought about that. I just need to get outta here first, though, take care of some things. I'm trying to locate my old Spec Ops squads, my students from the Technomancy division."

"Any luck?" asked Shepard.

"No," said Kaidan, shaking his head. "Probably went underground, but the docs haven't let me Connect to check on them. I know they'll turn up, though; if they were easy to find, they wouldn't be doing their jobs." With that, he and Shepard broke their embrace, their expressions brighter.

"Well," said Shepard. "Let me know when you're out… Take care, Spectre Alenko."

"Stay safe, Commander," replied Kaidan. Their eyes never left each other until Shepard had stepped out of the room and back into the hustle and bustle of the hospital.

Her encounters were not to end there, however. For later, as she headed through the docking bay back to the _Normandy_, someone hailed her from the lower area, close to a board full of Missing Person notices. Looking around to see who it was, Shepard's eyes widened as she saw a figure she never thought she would see again. The woman who had hailed her was wearing a very form-fitting black and white outfit that showed off her full athletic frame, had long waves of black hair and very pale skin.

"Commander Shepard," the woman said with traces of an Australian accent as she approached. "It's been far too long. We live in interesting times."

"A little too interesting," sighed Shepard. "I never thought I'd see you again, Miranda."

"Well," replied Miranda Lawson, "I couldn't get anywhere near you when the UNSC had you locked up."

"Relieved of duty," said Shepard as they walked before the large viewing window. "It was complicated."

"I know," sighed Miranda. "I was there when Anderson gave the news. In spite of his influence, I'm surprised you weren't court-martialled; the Office of Naval Intelligence was not known for its flexibility."

"Doesn't matter now," stated Shepard. Miranda paused for a moment, looking awkward.

"Shepard…" she began. "About Earth…"

"It was hard to leave…" said Shepard, turning back to the former Cerberus agent. "I haven't seen so much mindless slaughter since the Covenant War."

"I'm sorry, Shepard…" The Commander hung her head, her eyes closed.

"But seeing it all made me more determined to fight back," she breathed, her fist clenching, "find a way to beat the odds."

"Everybody's got a weakness," Miranda nodded. "Even King Ghidorah." Shepard allowed herself to relax, turning to Miranda.

"What about you?" she asked. "What brings you here?"

"I need to talk to a few people," Miranda replied as she led the way back towards the security checkpoint. "People like you. The Citadel's a good place to meet… for now. What's the UNSC's next move?"

"We have a plan," said Shepard. "It's a long shot."

"Not surprising," chuckled Miranda, but her smile quickly faded. "Shepard… There's something I need to mention."

"What is it?"

Miranda paused, holding a hand up to her head, her face a mask of worry.

"I haven't heard from my sister, Oriana, for a while" she replied. "I'm getting worried. I don't want to overreact, but…" She sighed. "Well, there's a lot going on."

"I thought we made sure she was safe," said Shepard, puzzled.

"We did," nodded Miranda. "It's probably nothing, but… I just know my father's involved." At this, her expression turned dark. Miranda hated her father for everything he had tried to do, how he had tried to control the lives of both of his daughters.

"What happened?" asked Shepard.

"I don't know…" replied Miranda in a nervous tone. "Everything I had in place to make sure she was safe went dark. I can't even find anything out through the Array." Like Kaidan, Miranda was also a Technomancer, one of several who worked or had worked for Cerberus at one time.

"What do you need from me?" asked the Commander.

"I appreciate the offer, Shepard," said Miranda, shaking her head, "but you have your hands full." She tried to put on a brave smile. "If I need a door or two kicked down, I know just who to call. But for now, I'll be fine."

"Okay," sighed Shepard, knowing it would be impossible to change Miranda's mind at this point. "I understand." They sat down together on one of the benches, Miranda still wringing her hands and looking awkwardly around, as if expecting someone to jump out at them.

"It's been a long time," Shepard continued. "What happened to you?"

"I've been in hiding," Miranda replied. "Being on the run from just about everyone isn't as glamourous as it sounds. I knew there would be repercussions to walking away from Cerberus." 

"I imagine," chuckled Shepard. "You're a dangerous enemy."

"I am," stated Miranda, getting some of her old cold confidence back.

"So have you had any run-ins with the Illusive Man?" asked Shepard, frowning.

"Just once," said Miranda. "He said it had been a pleasure to work with me, but he needed to 'contain the situation'.

"That sounds pretty final," said Shepard scornfully.

"It nearly was," Miranda spat, looking away with narrowed eyes. "He doesn't take rejection well."

"No, he doesn't," replied Shepard. "But if you're looking for a lead here, anyone connected to Cerberus will be hard to find."

"No question," said Miranda. "But I'm owed a few favours. Someone here will give me a tip on Oriana."

"What makes you so certain your father's involved in her disappearance?" asked Shepard.

"I kept careful tabs on my sister," Miranda explained. "I always knew where she was. For her to just vanish…" Her expression grew particularly disgusted, as if she had tasted something rotten. "It could only be him. After I'd hid her away, I still knew he'd stop at nothing to find her. She's all he has left." She stood up, looking towards the checkpoint. "I have a hunch what happened, but I'll fill you in when I'm certain."

"Understood," said Shepard. "Be careful."

"No promises," Miranda shrugged, as she strutted towards the checkpoint. Shepard shook her head, wondering just how many of her former crewmates were throwing themselves into danger at this moment.

0

That evening, Alan found himself pacing his cabin on the _Serenity_, checking the stream of data he was receiving on a datapad. He had been checking it almost every day, as it had a direct connection to the data in the conference room in Kedzuel's palace. His brow furrowed as he studied the data; reports of the Reapers' advance kept coming in, with Palaven and Tuchanka barely holding together. The N7 teams that Kiryuu had dispatched, in spite of now being joined by Sangheili volunteers, were barely able to push back the Reapers in every theatre of war they opened. Cerberus had complicated matters by dispatching their own squads, one of which had tried to activate some kind of ancient cannon on Tuchanka. Their plan had been foiled, and an N7 unit was being stretched to its limits trying to hold the area. Alan frowned, wondering just how long they could keep this up, especially as supply lines were getting harder to hold…

He jumped as there was a buzzing on the small intercom by the ladder leading up to the corridor. Groaning, he threw the datapad onto his bunk and pushed a button on the intercom.

"Yeah?" he grunted.

"_Sorry to bother you, Captain Tyler,"_ came Emily Wong's voice, _"but President Knight has just come on board. He says he needs to speak to you about something; as a matter of fact, he's standing right here with me. I didn't know what else to do; turning away a former President is just not something you usually do, is it?"_

"You'd be surprised," snorted Alan. "Still, no harm done. He can come on down, but I doubt he's in the mood for an interview."

"_No, he already made that pretty clear,"_ sighed Emily. _"Think I'll try again once we've saved the Krogans. That at least has to be worth commenting on!"_

The intercom went quiet, and the hatch in the ceiling softly creaked open. A shadow fell across the wall, and Kiryuu's armour-plated feet were the first things he saw descending the ladder. This was quickly followed by the long, snaking tail, the waist, chest, arms, neck, and finally the head. The former President stood there for a moment, taking in the sights of Alan's cabin and the ladder. It was a rather plain cabin, as Alan didn't have much in the way of possessions, though he had tried to brighten up the place with old displays of ancient, long-dead prog-rock and prog-metal bands, as well as the odd model ship that he had purchased on his travels. Under one arm, Kiryuu was holding a small black box lined with blue lights.

"Is this a bad time, Alan?" he asked.

"No, of course not," Alan shrugged. "Have a seat." He gestured towards his bunk. "Sorry it's not very roomy in here, but I don't get many visitors in my cabin."

"It's quite alright," Kiryuu smiled. He sat down on one end of the bunk, Alan sitting beside him. The bio-mechanical dinosaur placed the blue box between them.

"What is that?" asked Alan, peering at it curiously.

"It's a time capsule," explained Kiryuu. "It was all Liara's idea. She felt that, should the worst come to pass…" He sighed, shaking his head. "God forbid that happens, but if it does, then Liara wants a record to be left behind, seeded throughout every corner of the galaxy in case the knowledge of how to connect to the Array is lost. While it's not foolproof, she's put in every translation and linguistics program she can think of; you remember how the biggest problem with the Forerunners' warning was that no-one could read it without a lot of psychic intervention."

"I remember," said Alan, vividly recalling how much of an effort it had been to decipher the warning of the Reaper invasion that had been implanted in Shepard's brain two years ago.

"In here is everything we have so far on the Reapers, and our attempts to fight them," Kiryuu continued. "We have everything on the Reapers, the galaxy, different cultures, and information on Technomancy. However, there are a couple of records that still need to be filled in, and Liara was hoping we could help with that. One record was about me, and the other about… well… you."

"Me?" asked Alan, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Why are you so shocked?" chuckled Kiryuu. "You're playing as much of a part in this war as everyone else is. You've already had a couple of triumphs in the Grissom Academy rescue and recruiting the Rachni to the cause. I'd say you've earned your place in this record."

He tapped a side of the cube with his claw, and a hologram suddenly flickered into life above it. It showed a stationary representation of Alan. The real Alan was fascinated by this, and thought that this was a very sound idea. So he nodded at Kiryuu.

"Fine by me," he said.

"Liara says she wants our input on this," Kiryuu paused, scratching his chin. "So, Alan, how would you like history to remember you?"

"Forty thousand years is a long time for a computer to sit around," Alan shrugged.

"That's what I said to Liara," Kiryuu chuckled. "She said 'I'm an archaeologist. I know what I'm doing'."

"This all reminds me of Vigil on Ilos…" Alan muttered, looking thoughtful.

"That's where she got the idea, apparently," replied Kiryuu. "Anyway, have you decided what you'd like me to write in your entry?"

Alan paused for a moment. He had to admit that he had no idea how he wanted to be remembered should he ever die; he had always reasoned that the galaxy would forget about him after a while, and life would go on. However, now that he found himself trying to write his own entry in what was essentially a history book, he found himself stumped. So much had happened, and he was worried that he could not be honest with himself. After a few moments, he looked back at Kiryuu, their reptilian eyes peering at each other.

"You know me well enough to fill in the blanks, granddad," he said quietly.

"Are you sure?" asked Kiryuu, arching his brows.

"Yeah," said Alan, smiling. "I'd like it to be your call."

"Alright…" Kiryuu said, looking a little abashed. He ran a claw through his dreadlocks, carefully considering his words and pulling up every record on Alan he had, everything that they had been through and experienced for over five hundred years. Afterwards, when he felt confident to speak, he leaned towards the time capsule, peering at the holographic Alan figure, and began:

"Alan Tyler. He was one of the very few who had witnessed the multiple forms of King Ghidorah. Born nearly five hundred years from this date, during the time when Earth's greatest achievement in space flight was going to the Moon and landing a rover on Mars. Despite the primitive technology, at least by today's standards, Earth was still attacked by King Ghidorah and Alan was one of the first to see it personally; the very first recorded attack of King Ghidorah on Earth. And though many denied the attack, covered it up, Alan never gave in. He knew the truth and he was going to tell it. You see, Alan Tyler was a very stubborn human. He wasn't going to give up, not to King Ghidorah, not to anyone. He was so stubborn that he survived into the future, five hundred years later to face the monster down again. Because Alan is stubborn and he will not give up. And that's what it means to be human. Never giving up no matter what the odds are against you. Alan is a very good example of that. He even taught this old biomechanical dinosaur a thing or two about never giving up. Even after all we've been through, he never let me give up." Kiryuu paused and a soft smile spread across his face. His expression was soft, thoughtful as if he was reflecting on the centuries he had known Alan. "And I thank him for that."

Alan nodded, smiling. "Any time," he said. "Just be careful that this doesn't end up sounding like a diary."

"I can't help myself," chuckled Kiryuu. "It feels good to open up about everything we've been through." He turned off the recorder, and the holographic Alan flickered and faded. Kiryuu sighed, turning away from Alan with a sorrowful expression. "I know things didn't start off well between us… I was a very different person back in those days. I didn't see you as anything other than a tool to achieve my goals, and I placed you in harm's way so many times… I don't blame you for resenting me in those days."

"You made up for it," replied Alan, giving a sympathetic nod. "Let's face it; I wasn't exactly an angel, myself. You summed it up pretty well there; I was too stubborn for my own good."

"Now that stubbornness makes you a constant thorn in King Ghidorah's side, so something good came of it all," Kiryuu snorted. He picked up the capsule and stood up from the bed. "At least Liara will be happy to know that she can write your name in the stars." He looked back towards the ladder and then back to Alan, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry I can't stay any longer, but I've got to get back to organising the movements of our fleets."

"Give Liara my regards," said Alan, standing up. "I hope those time capsules never need to be necessary, but I'm glad someone's preparing for the worst."

Kiryuu smiled. "Let's keep hoping for the best, though," he said. He wrapped a claw around the ladder, and for a moment actually stared at it as if seeing it for the first time. "How have none of you had an accident getting in and out of your cabins before now?"

Alan laughed. "Blind luck, I guess," he sniggered. "José had a near-miss one time though, when he was blind drunk. It's not a story he likes to share."

Kiryuu chuckled, and climbed back up the ladder. Alan sighed as his 'grandfather's' tail whipped out of sight and the hatch closed. Unable to think of much else to do, Alan decided to recline on his bunk and keep checking the reports, relaying suggestions when he felt he could make them. It was late in the day, but he figured that it might at least help to pass the time until he felt tired enough to try sleeping…

The next thing he knew, he was jerking awake after being startled by his commlink beeping. He had actually dozed off while checking the reports, and the datapad that had been resting on his chest fell off him and clattered to the floor. Blinking heavily, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes, he raised his commlink and answered the call.

"_Captain?"_ came Nicole's similarly sleepy-sounding voice. _"Sorry to bother you, but Megellan's here. He says you're needed at Kedzuel's palace."_

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" asked Alan groggily.

"_Apparently not,"_ replied Nicole. _"He says he's here to take you to the palace now. It's urgent."_

Alan shook his head, trying to wake himself up more. He then remembered exactly what had been so important, what it was that everyone was waiting on, and he had the feeling he knew exactly what this meeting was about.

"Tell him I'm on my way," he said.

0

_**0206, November 11 2060 (Military Time)\Imperial Palace, **_**Shi'lithra**

They had all gathered now, in the war room inside Kedzuel's palace, though several of them looked like they were still struggling to wake up. Alan in-particular felt as if he could barely stand, and he noticed Shepard looked much the same. Doubtless she was doing the same as he was, keeping up-to-date with the latest information constantly, with little time for a break. Megellan had teleported him to the palace, but only Alan had been required to be present. So he knelt on a cushion at the low table beside Shepard. Also present were Kedzuel, Kiryuu, Admiral Hackett, Otto 'Gamam, Urdnot Wrex, Primarch Victus and Mordin Solus.

Of those present, only Mordin looked wide awake, in spite of the fact that he had not slept and barely remembered to eat over the past two days. He still seemed to twitch as he jerked his head around, looking at each face in turn, not seeming to notice that this meeting had roused most of those present from what was probably a deep slumber. Kedzuel looked similarly awake, as the Blitzardi barely needed to sleep due to how they measured time differently to other beings.

"Thank you for all for coming at such short notice," the Emperor said. "I am sorry for the abruptness of this gathering, but Professor Solus had given me news which could not wait. If you wish to present your findings to us, Doctor?"

"Yes," quipped Mordin. "Thank you. Cannot delay now." He addressed the whole table, still gesticulating wildly even as he pored over reams of data on his Omni-Tool. "Tests verified. Results promising. Can synthesise for universal Krogan immunity."

"Good," grunted Wrex. "Then you can put your knife away." Mordin had gotten his cell sample from Wrex, apparently extracted from an area of Krogan anatomy that it was more polite not to talk about.

"The cure's ready?" asked Shepard, now suddenly more alert to this news.

"No," replied Mordin, shaking his head. "Still need transmission vector. Cure useless unless given to entire species.

"You infected them with the disease once," said Alan, frowning. "Is the cure really that different?"

"No," replied Mordin. "Keeping modalities similar where possible. Easiest way to develop cure rapidly." He lowered his head slightly, his brow tightly-knit in concentration. "Groundwater? No, too slow. Voluntary inoculation risky. Population too scattered for airborne transmission, unless…" He glanced back up, his dark eyes suddenly widening and his long fingers snapping. "Wait… Yes!"

"You have an idea?" asked Hackett, now leaning forward in anticipation.

"The Shroud!" Mordin barked. "Constant global dispersion of air particles! Built by Salarians to repair atmosphere of Tuchanka!" He tapped frantically at the holographic controls, transmitting an image of a large, sleek-looking tower onto the projectors on the table. Out of the top of it came wisps of air, launching up and spreading out. With a dark expression, Mordin looked at Victus in-particular. "Also used by Turians," he added.

"We used it to secretly spread the genophage virus," the Turian explained. "It ended the Krogan Rebellions."

"I'd be careful who you tell that to," growled Wrex, grimacing.

"You know," hissed Otto, glowering at Victus, "sometimes I understand why the Krogans want to shoot everyone on sight."

"Those were desperate times…" sighed Victus, his hawk-like eyes downcast.

"Yes, yes," Mordin interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. "But useful now. Original genophage strain still in storage at Shroud facility." He pointed to the hologram, where a light started blinking close to the top. "Can use it as transmission vector, then use Shroud to blanket Tuchanka with cure!"

"You clever little pyjak," grunted Wrex, smirking. "That's our best shot, right there."

Kiryuu, however, looked concerned. While the others had been talking, he had transplanted the coordinates of the Shroud onto a map of Tuchanka, and now the real-time readings had revealed worrying results.

"Hold everything," he barked. "The scanners are showing a Reaper is standing guard at the facility." The hologram showed one of the walking, crab-like Destroyer-class Reapers Shepard had seen back in New York. "It would be impossible to land a shuttle there. I'm also picking up strange atmospheric readings coming from the area around the Shroud."

"Reapers one step ahead," Mordin groaned. "Doubtless using Shroud to poison Tuchanka's atmosphere." Wrex snarled, pounding his fist into the table.

"They want a fight, they got one!" he roared.

"Primarch, Arbiter," Shepard commanded, her back straighter. "We're gonna need your help."

"That could be difficult," sighed Victus. "Our losses on Palaven have been catastrophic."

"And the weaponry on our dreadnoughts is too powerful," Otto chimed in. "Only our strongest weaponry, the kind we use to glass planets, can take a Reaper down, but if we use that kind of firepower then we will destroy the tower as well."

"No-one said this would be easy," said Alan, his eyes narrowed. Kiryuu took a deep breath, and leaned closer to the holograms. He then turned to Shepard, who had her chin in her hand, her emerald-green eyes peering at the hologram intently.

"Shepard," he said, "you have something in mind?"

"A combined attack," replied Shepard. "The Turians and the Sangheili hit the Reaper with an airstrike." She turned to the Krogan leader. "Wrex, at the same time your soldiers will be attacking from the ground. Together, you can draw it away from the tower."

"A distraction," said Mordin in approval. "Small team can reach Shroud facility, finish synthesising cure. Will need Eve to come with us."

"The atmosphere around the tower is declining at an alarming rate," said Hackett, shaking his head. "If this keeps up, the atmosphere will be unbreathable across the entire planet within a few hours. It's now or never."

"Now," snarled Wrex. "The genophage ends today."

"Then everyone get to your stations," said Kedzuel, addressing everyone at the table. "Primarch, Arbiter, ready your fleets of fighters. Wrex, contact your people on the ground and organise a meeting spot to prepare for the ground assault. Mordin, prepare Eve for travel. Shepard, Alan, get your teams ready as the escort." He clenched his fist, his teeth bared, looking determined and rather frightening. "The Hydra's hold on Tuchanka is about to be brought to an end. Meeting adjourned, and best of luck to all of you."

Mere minutes later, the _Normandy_ was en-route to Tuchanka. In spite of the early call, everyone on Shepard's crew looked ready. She knew she was asking a lot of them, but she had been glad that they had been given a respite yesterday. They were ready for this; she knew it. However, as she went over the plan of attack in the ship's War Room, Traynor's voice came through the speakers.

"_Commander?"_ she said. _"Incoming message marked urgent. I'll put it in the comm. room for you."_

Walking through into the comm. chamber and activating the QEC, Shepard was surprised to see the hologram of Dalatrass Linron before her. She had not been surprised that the Salarian leader had declined to be present for the meeting; this entire issue had certainly caused a rift between her and the rest of the gathered alliance.

"Commander Shepard," the Dalatrass' reedy voice hissed, "we know you're heading back to Tuchanka, and by now I imagine Mordin Solus has proposed using the Shroud." 

"Are you spying on us?" demanded Shepard.

"Hardly," Linron spat. "The Shroud is the only viable course of action open to you." Her face hardened, her dark eyes narrowed. "Commander, you can't allow your misguided sympathy for the Krogans to cloud your judgment. Do you honestly believe curing the genophage will result in lasting peace?"

"We have to give the Krogans that chance," replied Shepard, calmly but firmly. "You can't condemn an entire race to extinction based on what might happen."

"What _will_ happen," the Dalatrass retorted, "is that the Krogans will reproduce out of control. We uplifted them specifically for their violent nature, not their diplomatic skills. Another war is inevitable."

"What do you want, Dalatrass?" asked Shepard, her eyes narrowed, and now finding it very hard to keep her temper. She did not doubt that Linron was making the same mistake that Mordin had once made; making judgments based purely on predictions brought about by analysing data, a method which failed to take many circumstances, and the unpredictability of life itself, into account.

"Years ago," said Linron, "our operatives sabotaged the Shroud facility to ensure what you're planning couldn't be done. Mordin will likely detect this malfunction and repair it." A horrible sneer played across her face. "But if you ensure that he doesn't, then the cure's viability will be altered just enough so that it fails. No-one will notice the change."

"You mean trick the Krogans?" breathed Shepard.

"They need not be any the wiser," replied the Dalatrass. "Let Urdnot Wrex believe you have fulfilled your promise."

"Mordin would never stand for that!" barked Shepard.

"How you deal with him is up to you, Commander," replied Linron, completely unflappable. "We can provide Emperor Kedzuel with our very best scientists, and the full support of our fleets."

"If I sabotage the cure," hissed Shepard, slurring the words as if she had tasted something foul.

"Think about it, Commander," the Dalatrass pressed. "The choice is yours."

Before Shepard could reply, the transmission was cut. She hardly dared to believe that the Dalatrass had even contemplated such a thing, a course of action that threatened to tear the alliance apart and destroy any chance they had against the Reapers. Frowning, she turned to head down to the hangar bay to get ready; the call had come when they were only a short distance away from Tuchanka, and as a result there was no time to alert Kedzuel to the Dalatrass' treachery. All the same, she knew that the Arbiter was right; sometimes the Krogans had good reason to resent everyone else in the galaxy.


	12. The New Krogan Dawn

**The New Krogan Dawn**

The atmosphere was tense in both the _Normandy_ and _Serenity_ shuttles as they raced over Tuchanka's barren, apocalyptic landscape to reach the meeting point. The sun was only now beginning to rise over the blasted horizon in this part of Tuchanka, casting an eerie orange glow over the landscape. The Krogans had long ago ruined the surface of their world through nuclear warfare, most retreating underground to eke out an existence beneath the sea of radiactive rubble and impact craters. It was symbolic of the Krogan people themselves; abandoned and with seemingly no future for itself.

Now, however, as he paced around the _Normandy_'s shuttle, Wrex was giddy with anticipation. He was unable to keep still, looking like an excited child unable to wait until Christmas. Mordin, Eve, Vega and Garrus were all dealing with their own nerves in their own ways; Garrus looked calm and professional, Vega idly made final checks on his guns, Eve looked contemplative, while Mordin kept checking his Omni-Tool, checking and re-checking that his calculations for the cure were correct. Shepard, meanwhile, stood a short distance away from Wrex, hanging onto a metal bar on the ceiling for support as the ship was buffeted by high winds. She was still worried about what the Dalatrass had said, but she had not mentioned it so far; she knew she had to keep the heads of the others clear if they were to succeed. They could not afford to let their judgment be clouded by anger, not when they were so close to winning this battle.

"I've ordered the clans to assemble at the Hollows," Wrex told her. "It's our sacred meeting ground. We'll land there and take an armoured convoy against the Reaper." He paused, peering wistfully past Shepard, as if seeing something she couldn't. "This will be the defining moment of Krogan history."

"Krogan history filled with defining moments," Mordin chimed in. "Most bloody. Hope this one better."

As Wrex began pacing again, Eve looked up at Shepard. Something of her worry must have been showing on her face, for the female Krogan said, "Commander, you seem troubled."

Shepard sighed. She had hoped not to broach the subject to keep everyone focused, but she saw no sense in lying or being evasive now that someone had noticed how she was feeling. She looked grim as she began to speak.

"I got a message from the-" she began, but was interrupted as the ship gave a particularly violent shake, which threw off her train of thought. There had been an impact close to the shuttle, but luckily Cortez managed to keep the ship reasonably stable. It was then that they picked up a transmission from the surface:

"_Wrex, it's Wreav!"_ a deep Krogan voice barked through the speakers. _"The Reapers are already at the Hollows! Come out with guns blazing!"_

"Hang on tight!" called Cortez. "We're going in!"

The shuttle touched down with a soft thud, and the door slid open, revealing rubble piled up outside what must have once been an ancient coliseum, surprisingly largely intact. A Husk turned its grey, dead head and roared at them, but one shot from Wrex's gun blasted it apart. The Krogan stepped down onto the ground, spotting the _Serenity_'s shuttle landing close by. Alan, Nicole and Dorva stepped out of it, their weapons ready.

"Shepard!" Wrex called behind him. "Keep the Reapers away from the female! I'll sort out what's happening with the other clans!" He sprinted off while both _Normandy_ and _Serenity_ teams ran through an open doorway close by, and descended a flight of stone steps into the interior of the Hollows. The scene inside was one of complete chaos; Krogan soldiers were scattered around the various levels of the ancient building, doing their best to fight off the swarms of Husks which threatened to overpower them.

"Everyone pick your targets and keep an eye on our six!" Shepard ordered. "Now move! Don't let any of them get out of here!"

"_Shepard, it's ugly over here!"_ Wrex barked over the comm. lines as both teams opened fire on the charging Husks. _"Whatever you do, keep them away from the female!"_

The two teams formed a wall of suppressing fire as they descended the steps, until they reached the bottom. Able to get eyes on every possible angle the Reaper forces could approach them from, they cut down the Husks as they approached. The wailing of the undead creatures seemed to echo around the area.

"Reminds me of the mess on Palaven!" Vega grunted, smashing the butt of his shotgun into the face of a Husk that had got too close for comfort.

"Keep the pressure up!" called Alan, as he cleared out several Husks at once with a well-placed Inferno shot. "There aren't many of them left!"

Though the fighting was intense, it only lasted a few minutes. Soon the last stragglers were reduced to bloody smears, though Alan couldn't help but feel that the hard part was still to come. There was still the matter of uniting the Krogan clans, and he wasn't sure even Wrex could manage that. On that note, the entrance door opened again, and Wrex, his maroon combat armour covered in the oily fluids of the Husks, stepped into the chamber, along with Mordin and a group of his own soldiers.

"They'll sing battle songs about this someday," he chuckled, calling out to the rest of the Krogans in the chamber. "Reaper blood has finally soaked our soil!" Amidst a number of approving cries from the assembled Krogan clans, Shepard ran up to Wrex.

"We have to get to the Shroud!" she barked. "The airstrike's on its way!"

"Female safe, Shepard," said Mordin. "Vitals are strong."

"What's a Salarian doing here?!" Wreav's voice suddenly demanded. Turning around, Alan's eyes narrowed as he recognised Wrex's more traditionalist brother from a previous encounter a few months ago. The grey-armoured, brown-crested Krogan had warriors from his own clan surrounding him, and he was glaring at Mordin with a look of pure disgust. Alan shook his head, feeling sure that even Wreav's beating at the hands of Kedzuel himself had not knocked any sense into him.

"Nobody said anything about this!" the Krogan continued to rant.

"Multiple Krogans," Mordin sniffed. "Problematic."

Both Alan and Wrex advanced on Wreav, forming a wall between him and Mordin. Shepard, however, had not met Wreav, so only looked at the Krogan with a penetrating glare.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Urdnot Wreav," the Krogan spat in reply. "Brood brother to our… illustrious leader." He peered at Wrex with the upmost contempt, then gave a particularly ugly look to Alan. "I see the 'Emperor's' little lap dog is here too. Your master too frightened to come down here and face the Reapers himself?"

"Watch your tongue, 'brother'," Wrex spat, amidst a series of angry murmurs coming from both opposing groups of Krogan. "Wreav and I share the same mother," he explained for Shepard's benefit, "and nothing else."

"For which I'm thankful," replied Wreav snottily. "I remember what it means to be a true Krogan!" His words were followed by a series of approving yells from his unit, some of which, Alan noticed, were members of the Blood Pack mercenary group. "We flay our enemies alive," Wreav continued, "and drown them in a geyser of their own blood. We don't invite them into our home."

"This Salarian is not your enemy," said Shepard, doing her best to remain calm. "He's here to help cure the genophage."

"His kind gave us the genophage," Wreav hissed, advancing towards Mordin. "Why should we trust him?!" In response, Wrex stepped before him and suddenly head-butted him with a resounding crack; this was a sign of disrespect among the Krogan people.

"Because I do," Wrex stated as Wreav shook himself, recovering. "And so will you, Wreav."

Wreav's lips trembled as he snarled, and the two opposing Krogan groups barked intimidatingly at each other. Their muscles were tensed, and Alan was sure a fight was about to break out. Wreav even drew his shotgun, and Alan was sure Wrex was about to feel the full force of it. He was on the point of drawing his own weapons, when a strong, commanding voice called from the entrance to the chamber.

"Enough!" it shouted. Turning around, everyone saw Eve standing at the top of the stairs, back straight and peering down at the assembled Krogans with disgust. Instantly the chamber fell silent. News had spread among the clans of a female Krogan who held the key to genophage immunity in her blood, so now all of the assembled clans were looking at her with a sense of almost god-like reverence as she marched down the steps towards Wrex.

"You can stay here and let old wounds fester," Eve continued in a bold voice, "as Krogans have always done." She strode right past Wrex and Wreav, and walked towards the raised dais in the middle of the floor. "Or you can fight the enemy you were born to destroy, and win a new future for our children." On the dais, she spun around to face the others. "I choose to fight! Who will join me?!"

"I will," Shepard responded in a bold voice, stepping forward.

"As will I," Alan chimed in, stepping in beside her.

"And so will I!" added Wrex commandingly, addressing the chamber. "Now hold your heads high, like true Krogan! There's a Reaper that needs killing!" Wrex's Krogan unit barked their approval, while Wreav remained silent, peering at Eve. After a few moments, however, he too nodded, and a chorus of approving voices echoed all around them. They continued to sound even as the groups headed back out of the chamber towards the awaiting convoy.

The armoured carriers rattled over the ruined highways of Tuchanka, their wheels seeming to bounce off every ramp and break in the road. In the distance, their destination could be seen poking out of the surface like a spear, the clouds around it dark and imposing in contrast to the morning light. Shepard, Alan, Wrex, Mordin and Eve rode in one truck, their teams riding in another. Alan somehow felt even more tense than before, feeling that Wreav was making the situation very volatile, in spite of his agreement to work with everyone else. He wondered if the upstart Krogan would cause trouble when this was over.

"_Krogan ground convoy,"_ a transmission stated for Shepard, _"this is Turian wing Artimec. Our flight vector to the Shroud is locked. We're ten minutes out and counting."_

"_Roger, Artimec,"_ came another voice. _"This is Sangheili wing Spear of Orion. Intercept course set for the Shroud. Will rendezvous with your wing in five minutes."_

"Copy that, Artimec and Spear of Orion," replied Shepard. "We're on our way, trying to make up lost time. Shepard out."

"Wreav isn't the only Krogan who wants revenge for the genophage," Eve said to Wrex as they sat on opposite sides of the cramped transport. "You'll have to placate them somehow."

"I'll demand that the Council return some of our old territory," replied Wrex. "We'll need room to expand, recapture the glory of the ancients."

"'Glory of ancients' led to Krogan Rebellions," Mordin stated. "Countless deaths. Creation of genophage. Expansion plan may be problematic."

Alan sighed, turning to Eve. "What were the ancient Krogan like?" he asked.

"Tuchanka wasn't always a wasteland," replied Eve. "In the old times, the Krogan were a proud people. We had dreams… a future to look forward to."

"Until Salarian interference," sighed Mordin.

"No," said Eve softly and full of pity for the scientist. "We destroyed Tuchanka ourselves. Technology changed us. It made life too easy. So we looked for new challenges… and found them in each other. Nuclear war was inevitable."

"And now our planet is rubble," grunted Wrex.

"Well, Kedzuel already promised to help restore Tuchanka to its old self," said Alan. "I'd say helping to defeat the Reapers is also worth an extra planet."

"Or ten," chuckled Wrex. "Kedzuel hasn't seen how fast we can pop them out."

"Wrex…" Eve began, sighing.

"What?" Wrex shrugged, keeping his tone light and joking. "With the genophage cured, we'll have a lot of catching up to do." Eve just rolled her eyes, though Alan noticed that she didn't object. It was then that Eve's eyes darted in Shepard's direction. The Commander had remained silent since speaking to the fighters, and now had that awkward expression on her face again.

"Commander," said Eve, "back on the shuttle… was there something you wanted to say?" Her words seemed to bring Shepard back to her senses, and her expression became very grave.

"The Dalatrass tried to cut a secret deal with me," she said.

"What kind of deal?" asked Wrex.

"She said they sabotaged the Shroud years ago," explained Shepard. "The cure won't work unless we fix it." She brought up her Omni-Tool and played a recording of the transmission. She had been holding onto it as evidence to present to Kedzuel later, assuming he hadn't already been keeping tabs on all communication on the _Shi'lithra_.

"_Years ago,"_ Linron's voice repeated, _"our operatives sabotaged the Shroud facility to ensure what you're planning couldn't be done."_ At this, Wrex looked livid, the slit pupils of his eyes narrowed to the point where they almost couldn't be seen.

"And she thought we wouldn't know better?!" he snarled.

"Correctly," replied Mordin, looking no less determined. "Would likely have fooled tests. But familiar with STG work. Can adjust. Did not come this far for nothing."

"I don't expect we'll get any official support from the Salarians after today," said Shepard, frowning as she put the Omni-Tool away.

"Fuck 'em," Alan fumed, a bestial snarl escaping his throat. It was times like these when a more animalistic side of his character began to show, doubtless another effect of the mutations he had endured. "That hag had better hope Kedzuel finds her before I do, for I'll pull out that wrinkled old cunt of hers next time I clap eyes on her. Let's see how she likes being neutered."

Wrex grunted in approval of that idea, but Eve was more restrained. "You just spared our race another genocide, Commander," she said.

"I told you we could count on her," Wrex said softly to Eve.

The group didn't have time to ponder on the Dalatrass' betrayal, for the sounds of the truck's engine began to die, and the rattling gradually ceased. Seconds later it had come to a complete halt.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Wrex, getting to his feet and looking annoyed.

Shepard threw open the side door and she and Alan climbed out. Vega, Garrus, Nicole and Dorva were climbing out of the second transport close by them, and now the other transports were slowing down after catching up to them. They had stopped on a wrecked piece of highway, offering a good view of the desolate ruins of an ancient city, the Shroud tower now no more than a mile away. Every now and then a wispy light shot out of the top and into the atmosphere, its appearance punctuated by a bolt of lightning. There was little doubt that this was the poison the Reapers were planning to use to annihilate the Krogan race.

"Wrex," said Shepard into her communicator, "you and Mordin stay with Eve. It's looking ugly out here!"

"_Will do,"_ was Wrex's reply.

The two teams walked over to the guard rail running along the pavement, right on the edge of a steep drop that led to a ruined city below. As they did so, they heard faint footfalls coming from the tower, and emerging from the other side of the tower they saw the crab-like Reaper, moving into position to block any approach.

"Look at that Reaper…" Vega gasped. "It's like Earth all over again!"

"You think it's expecting us?" asked Dorva.

"No doubt about it," said Alan, shaking his head. "If Cerberus is indoctrinated, then the Reapers know what we're up to." He scratched his chin. "I still have to wonder how Cerberus found out in the first place. I have a theory, but that's all it is."

"We'll worry about that later," said Shepard. "Right now, we've got to get the trucks moving again."

Around them, the Krogan soldiers that had emerged to check on the situation were now peering around them, looking worriedly out towards the Shroud. "Never seen the sky like that…" one of them breathed, looking at the dark clouds with fear in his eyes. Shepard walked to the front of the convoy, where one of Wrex's scouts was examining the damaged highway before them.

"What's the holdup?" she asked.

"Road's out," the scout replied. He pointed to a narrow ledge that ran close to the wall on the other side of the road. "We'll only be able to move one truck at a time along that ledge, but it'll take too long."

"Artimec and Spear," said Shepard into her commlink, "this is Shepard. We've been delayed. Hold off your attack."

"_Negative, Commander,"_ the Turian squadron leader replied. _"Our approach is locked. The Reaper already knows we're here!"_

Even as he spoke, there was a rumbling noise and dust scattered as something flew low overhead. Looking up, Shepard and Alan saw the combined Turian and Sangheili squadron, charging full-speed towards the awaiting Reaper.

"That airstrike's not gonna stand a chance on its own!" Garrus yelled. "We've gotta get in there!"

"Damn it…" Shepard grunted, as the fighters engaged the Reaper. Their shots pounded on the creature's metallic body, but not a single one of them made a dent in it. The Commander marched to the scout. "I don't care if we have to build a new road!" she bellowed. "We're moving!"

All of a sudden, there was a heavy explosion as one of the Reaper's blasts knocked a stabilising wing off one of the Turian fighters. At its angle it was now careening helplessly towards the highway, right to the spot where the convoy was waiting.

"Oh, shit!" bellowed Vega, as the fighter shot towards the convoy like a surface-to-air missile.

"Move!" Shepard barked, and everyone dived for cover as the fighter slammed into the road, destroying several trucks outright and sending Krogan bodies flying. The rest of the trucks were blocked by the rubble created; it was impossible for them to get through. Only two trucks remained functional; Wrex's and Wreav's. Miraculously, Shepard, Alan, and their teams were unhurt.

_"Shepard!"_ bellowed Wrex. _"What's happening?!"_

"Wrex!" Shepard yelled. "Get the female out of here now! Go!"

The engines started on the two trucks, and they quickly rode over the ledge before them. Even as the last wheels of Wreav's truck touched solid ground again, the ledge collapsed, completely cutting off the others. Shepard pulled herself to her feet, coughing in the midst of the dust that had been scattered everywhere.

"Artemic?" she gasped. "Spear? Do you copy?"

"_We have to abort, Commander!"_ a Sangheili pilot responded. _"That Reaper's tearing us to pieces!"_

"Understood!" replied Shepard. "Save your pilots! We'll find another way!"

"There's a tunnel over there!" called Dorva. "That might be our way out!" He was pointing to a part of the immense wall, and sure enough there was a tunnel cut into it that was accessible from the road.

"Let's get in there!" called Shepard, before turning to Alan. "Tyler, contact the _Shi'lithra_! See if they can send reinforcements!" As the ship was currently unseen in orbit, a transmission from the ground was possible.

"You got it!" Alan replied, before raising his commlink. "Kiryuu, the distraction plan failed! We need something else to distract that Reaper!"

"_We saw on the scanners,"_ replied Kiryuu. _"It'll take a few minutes before we can send down any more fighters. Hold out for as long as you can!"_

Alan cut the transmission as he followed the others into the tunnel. Almost as soon as they had dropped down a low wall, they found themselves surrounded by darkness. Switching on the lights on their weapons revealed that they were inside a corridor, in what must have once been a vast temple. There was rubble and signs of decay, such as immense cobwebs, everywhere, but nothing that looked like it could impede their progress.

"Wrex," said Shepard into her commlink, "are you receiving this? Is everyone okay?"

"_Yeah, just scratches,"_ replied Wrex. _"Nothing the Salarian can't patch up. Wreav's truck made it out too."_

"The Turians and Sangheili had to call off the airstrike," said Shepard. "Alan's called in for reinforcements from the _Shi'lithra_, but we'll need a new plan for dealing with the Reaper."

"_First we'll have to find you,"_ Wrex grunted. _"Where'd you end up?"_

"Underground," said Shepard, shining her light on the walls. "We see ruins of some kind."

"_Commander,"_ Eve's voice suddenly said, _"that's the city of the ancients."_

"How do we get out?"

"_No maps exist,"_ was Eve's reply. _"It's been abandoned for thousands of years."_

"_You're a trailblazer, Shepard,"_ Wrex chimed in. _"Get through there, and we'll find a place to meet up. Nothing will stop this cure."_

Seeing no other option than to press on, Shepard led the way through the dark, deserted tunnels, Alan watching the rear.

0

Emperor Kedzuel Draconis knocked heavily upon the wooden door to Dalatrass Linron's quarters. He was more than furious upon discovering the secret communication between the Dalatrass and Commander Shepard. As the door chimed open, he found the Salarian leader sitting at her table, looking over a few private notations. She tilted her head to find the Blitzardi standing in the doorway.

"Your Highness," she said as she rose up.

Kedzuel straightened his back and walked closer to her.

"And how are you finding the accommodations?" asked Kedzuel.

"Well enough," she replied.

"Good."

He made his way over to the table and settled himself down across from her. Kedzuel inclined upon his elbows and folded his fingers together. His brow twitched.

"Are you looking at Tuchanka?" he asked, taking note of the brown-coloured planet upon the holographic screen.

"Why, yes, sir," she said. "Just overseeing the plan."

"Are you?" Kedzuel said and then took in a deep breath. "Do you think me a fool?"

"I beg your pardon…"

"You heard me," he said. "Do you think I am a fool?"

"Of course now, why would you ask such a question?"

Kedzuel lowered his hands. "I heard your little scheme..." he snarled, "the thing you said to Commander Shepard. The Shroud had been sabotaged. You don't want the cure to work, do you? And what is it you said? If Shepard successfully prevents the Krogans from being cured of the genophage, you would send your fleet to my aid? Is that what you promised Shepard?"

"How did you know…?"

Kedzuel's lips curled into a dangerous smile. "Did you think that your transmissions wouldn't be monitored? You are on my ship, Dalatrass Linron, I have a right to know everything you send out there into the ethers. I've tapped your calls."

Linron shot straight up, her eyes narrowing under the shadow of her hood.

"Don't tell me you want the Krogans to be cured!"

"Don't tell me you would advocate the genocide of one species as payment for your continued help against the Reapers?" said Kedzuel, rising up from his seat. "You want to buy loyalty with blood? My scientists started studying the history of this genophage. I know what it's doing to the Krogans. Very soon their entire species will be wiped out! You've already destroyed their culture with this nasty contraceptive."

"I thought I would have your support in this, Your Highness. You seemed against the genophage's cure…"

"I wasn't against the cure's creation!" Kedzuel roared. "I merely thought that such a thing should wait until after the war is over. What use would a cure be to the Krogans if there are no Krogans left to even see if it worked? Perhaps curing such a thing should have waited until after the Reapers had been defeated. Then the Krogans could worry about if their reproductive organs still function." He crossed his arms. "Besides, that's what people tend to do after a war."

"If you are now so knowledgeable about the genophage," began the Dalatrass. "Then perhaps you understand why it was implemented in the first place."

Kedzuel settled down into his chair, leaning against its back and crossing his arms. His left brow cocked up.

"Enlighten me," he said.

"The Krogans are a violent race," she replied, firmly and with total conviction. "They've reduced their own planet into a radioactive wasteland. And worse yet, even after we've been so generous to them… my people especially… giving them a chance to uplift themselves into the galactic society, how do they repay us? They conquer worlds, they expand, they infest! They take what does not belong to them!"

"From my understanding," said Kedzuel. "You uplifted them because you needed expendable soldiers to fight the war against the Rachni."

"Yes, we needed their help," said Linron. "But we rewarded them for their service. You've been to the Citadel; did you not see the statue erected in the Presidium?"

"I've seen it," said Kedzuel. "And you gave them worlds belonging to the Rachni in payment to help with their... population problem?"

"They grew too numerous to control, Your Highness! The Krogan invaded upon other worlds, worlds that the Asari and the Turians called home. The Turians then knew that it was a mistake to help these savages. So, they commissioned some of our finest scientists on Sur'Kesh to create a way to control the infestation; the genophage."

"Oh, I think you've done a lot more damage to the Krogans than what you realize, Dalatrass," said Kedzuel, pointing a sharp obsidian claw at the Salarian leader. "I haven't been sleeping through these war councils. You turned a species into a weapon. Destroyed their culture because you couldn't fight against a bunch of bugs. You bred your own biological weapon, showed them nothing more than what you felt they needed to know: war, fighting. If you continue to be so violent against a child, the child will become violent as well. The genophage was nothing more than some desperate design to beat a bunch of inferiors into submission. You used them for your needs and when it was all done, you tossed them out like some old sock. I can see why when I first met Wrex, he seemed like he was carrying the weight of billions on his back." He turned away. "I was wrong to have been so impatient with any of them."

"Please," said Linron. "You think your species is so perfect. I wouldn't throw stones. I'm sure your people have done such things as we have."

"You wouldn't be wrong on that," said Kedzuel. "We have. Many times." He stood up, walking around towards the Salarian. "Do you know how many sentient, ancient cultures my species has wiped out since our first flight through the stars? Many of those were wiped out by accident, and many more wiped out on purpose. We would take species from worlds, regardless to whether or not they were capable of traveling in space, and we would experiment on them, use them as cannon fodder... or even food."

The Dalatrass' eyes widened and her thin lips became slack as Kedzuel told his story.

"There is an archaeological museum on Kethoi," the Emperor continued. "It's filled with countless artefacts of the worlds we destroyed, the cultures we erased. Many of them even now were so old that we forgot what they represented or who they belonged to. And they all began to blur together after the ages, until they merged into one. So many died when we gathered our resources to fight the Reapers. So many died, more because of my species' actions than the Reapers themselves." He dipped his head, wagging it in disgust. "And yes, we've created our own sort of genophage for a few of them. But was it right? Who were we to decide who should live and who should die? Who were we to choose? Was it because we were the apex species in this universe?" He came around and leaned over the table. "And who are you to wave around hope to a humbled race just so you could guarantee your participation in this war? What possessed you to even think of such a thing? Do these vendettas even matter right now when you face not only the extinction of the Krogans, but your own people as well?"

The door chimed and opened. Kedzuel turned to find his honour guard Zhane outside, looking rather dishevelled.

"Zhane?" he asked.

"I am sorry for the interruption, sire," said Zhane. "But the ground team has hit an obstacle. The distraction plan failed; the Reaper is still guarding the Shroud."

"Hmmm…" said Kedzuel. "Well then, we must get rid of it." He turned his glowing eyes back to the Dalatrass and he sneered. "I am so furious right now that I am ready to break your non-existent jaw, Dalatrass."

The Salarian gasped. "You wouldn't assault me…it would mean war between our peoples!"

"No," said Kedzuel. "I won't do that to you. It wouldn't be diplomatic. But I must direct my anger at something. The Reaper will do. Zhane, if you would kindly keep a video drone over the Reaper, I want Dalatrass Linron to see this. It would be very educational, if not entertaining."

"And how would you destroy that Reaper?" asked Linron.

"By breaking its face in," said Kedzuel as he broke for the door. "Zhane, make sure she stays in her room during the fight. She is not to leave until I return." He paused and tilted his head to Zhane. "There are other things I must discuss with her when I return." Kedzuel circled back to Linron and grinned. "I am not so furious at you for asking Shepard to do this despicable act against the Krogans, Dalatrass. I know the Commander will make the right decision when it comes time to do so. But to use her as a means to ensure your assistance in saving this galaxy… by destroying one of the galaxy's civilizations in the process… disgusting. Shouldn't the need to save this galaxy be more important? Don't you want to defend your home or help your neighbours?"

He received no answer from the Dalatrass, who merely bowed her head. Though Kedzuel could read the grim sneer upon her lips. The Emperor growled deeply and stormed out the door.

0

The catacombs were a confusing place; some of the ancient doors had been blocked by rubble, while parts of the walls had crumbled away into other chambers. The torches were the only source of light, the darkness seeming to close in behind them. As Shepard was about to step over a pile of rubble, there was a sudden rumbling noise, and the ground shook as if an earthquake had been set off.

"What the hell?" James muttered. The tremors had a strange pattern to them; they ended as quickly as they began, but another one followed it shortly after. They didn't seem to be caused by impacts on the surface; they came from all around and below the group as they worked their way through the abandoned chambers, full of fallen statues and grand columns. The few statues that did survive showed proud-looking Krogans, doubtless the heroes of their era. Most of the walls were blank, but one that they passed showed a set of paintings, like those found in ancient Egyptian tombs, showing Krogans bowing before their leader.

"Well," Nicole mused, "I guess the Krogans could paint once upon a time."

"Strange that they chose obedience as their subject," pondered Garrus. "In light of the Krogan we see nowadays, at least."

As they headed down a flight of steps, the tremors grew even more severe, but now there was the sound of something else; a high-pitched cry, distant but resonant enough to sound as if it was coming from the walls themselves.

"Okay, that wasn't an earthquake!" exclaimed James.

"Wrex," asked Alan into his commlink, "are you guys feeling these tremors?"

"_Not up here,"_ replied Wrex.

"_It could be something else, Captain,"_ Eve then said in an ominous tone. _"It is said that Kalros, the mother of all thresher maws, lives in this region."_

"_Which is another reason to get your asses outta there!"_ Wrex barked. _"Step on it!"_

"The mother of all thresher maws…" breathed Dorva. He had seen thresher maws on other planets before, and found it hard to believe that they all originated from this point. "This sounds troubling."

"No kidding," breathed Vega. "If they gave the thing a name, it must be something special."

While they were talking, something caught Alan's eye on the other end of the ruined chamber they were now standing in. Approaching it, he saw that it was another wall painting, this one showing a colossal worm rising out of the ground. Streaks of light had been painted emanating from its body, as if this worm was held in high regard, seen as almost divine.

"I bet that's Kalros herself," muttered Garrus, when he came over to see what Alan was looking at.

"Oh, Christ…" Nicole groaned. "Do I need to tell you guys that we ought to hurry up and get outta here? I don't want this Kalros to find us."

More tremors followed them as they worked their way through the darkness. Around a corner and at the bottom of another flight of stairs, their torchlight fell on the body of one of the Ravagers Alan had seen before. It was dead, but there was no doubt that it meant Reaper forces were nearby.

"This one of the indoctrinated Rachni you saw?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah…" Alan breathed. "There was bound to be more of them than just the ones we killed." He raised his commlink. "Wrex, we've got indoctrinated Rachni here. Keep an eye out."

"_I know,"_ grunted Wrex. _"A few of them just attacked us. All that matters is getting to that Shroud. Find us fast."_

"Look," Garrus suddenly said, pointing to the top of the stairs. A faint glow could now be seen. "Daylight ahead."

Cautiously, the group climbed the stairs, and found themselves on a high walkway. To their right was a sheer drop into a deep pool far below, illuminated by the soft light filtering in between ornate pillars. Along the walkway and up another flight of steps, eyes went wide as they stepped out into a gigantic courtyard before an ancient temple. Though much of the courtyard was in ruins, the angular architecture of the building, with its higher levels resembling a ziggurat, was still clear to see, showing a beauty that seemed impossible to believe of the Krogans today. Signs of vegetation could be seen all over the stonework, showing that, against all the odds, life had found a way to return to the surface.

"Wrex," said Shepard, knowing that she had little time to absorb the elegance of the scene before her. "We made it back outside."

"_Well,"_ said Wrex, _"if you can see sunlight, that's progress."_

"Check it out…" said Vega, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing. "Guess the nukes didn't kill all the plants."

"_You're looking at hope,"_ Eve chimed in. _"All that's left on Tuchanka. This was once a world full of beauty. Given a chance, it can be again."_

"_Shepard,"_ Wrex interrupted, _"that Reaper is still up to no good at the Shroud. Find a way out of there, and we'll pick you up."_

"We're on it," said Shepard, hanging up.

"And when we get there," muttered Dorva, "the Hydra will be banished from this world." He gripped his rifle tightly as he followed the others around a crumbled part of the courtyard, dropping into the same pool they had seen before. Their footsteps seemed to echo all around them in the gaunt quiet, dust being gently pushed around by a soft breeze.

"I didn't think these Krogans had any culture," said Nicole in disbelief.

"Just a damn shame they did their best to destroy what they had," said Garrus grimly.

"Seeing all this," Vega chimed in, "I hope Eve is right. Maybe something good can come of curing the genophage."

"Why do you think we're trying to cure it?" asked Alan smarmily. "If I didn't think Wrex could make things better for the Krogans, I wouldn't be doing this."

As they approached the other end of the courtyard, however, a series of meteorites pounded the ground before them, forcing them back and releasing a number of Reaper ground forces. The groups were forced to split up, diving behind the cover supplied by the fallen pillars and returning fire. The Ravagers pounded them with their artillery guns, but were beaten by Alan's team flanking them while Shepard's squad drew their fire. In the midst of the fighting, as they worked their way towards a stone archway, the ground shook again.

"I think Kalros is more than a myth!" Dorva yelled above the gunfire.

"Ah, shit…" James groaned, as he threw a grenade into a crowd of Husks, scattering them to the four winds. Pushing forward through the Reaper forces, the group were able to enter another courtyard area lined with statues of Krogans, close to a set of almost Gothic archways covering a stone bridge. As they fought, one of the large Brutes suddenly smashed through a wall close to them, cutting off their escape.

"Shit, it's one of the big guys!" yelled Garrus.

"And he isn't alone!" called Alan, pointing to another group of Marauders crossing the bridge and opening fire on them.

"Stay sharp!" Shepard yelled as she dived for cover, tearing apart a Marauder with a hail of assault rifle fire.

"_Shepard!"_ called Wrex. _"How's it going?"_

"We're a bit tied up right now!" Shepard barked. "The Reapers have us pinned down in the ruins!"

"_Get a move on!"_ Wrex barked back. _"That Reaper hasn't moved, and the sky's getting worse."_ As Alan crushed the skull of a Husk under a foot, another tremor ripped through the area, scattering the Husks as much as it scattered the team.

"You were right about Kalros!" Alan yelled.

"_Yeah, about that…"_ Wrex said. _"We've got some ideas-"_

"_Not now, Wrex!"_ Eve interrupted. _"They have enough to worry about as it is!"_

"What's happening?" asked Shepard, her last shot bringing down the Brute.

"_Some crazy idea we can talk about later,"_ said Wrex, struggling to make himself heard above the gunfire. _"Right now, just concentrate on getting outta there. Get to that bridge and we'll pick you up there."_

The foyer was a treacherous place, as much of the floor had given way; one slip would see them fall far into the catacombs below. The group had to be careful how they crossed the jagged floor, all while trying to fend off gunfire from the Cannibals below.

"I hate these guys!" Nicole yelled, firing on another pair of Ravagers. They tried to blast apart parts of the ground, and the group had to move quickly to avoid being swallowed up by the blackness below. In the end, however, they finally made it safely across the treacherous ground, bringing down the creatures with well-placed shots to their optics.

With the way clear, the group reached the bridge, and saw the trucks moving along the dusty ground below. Just when the group thought they were safe, however, the ground shook violently beneath them. Something erupted from the ground behind the trucks, sending plumes of dust everywhere.

"_It's Kalros!"_ Wrex suddenly yelled. _"Break off! We're getting outta here!"_ Even as the group watched, a set of gigantic dorsal spines erupted from the ground, moving like shark fins after the escaping trucks and cutting through part of the bridge as if it was made of paper.

"_Kalros' territorial instincts confirmed!"_ Mordin shrieked.

"_She's not gonna get us!"_ Wrex roared defiantly. The group progressed across the bridge, jumping over the gap Kalros had made. Not daring to look down at the ground, they crossed all the way over to some kind of memorial, lined with statues of Krogan heroes. Through a gap in the walls, they saw the trucks speeding away.

"_Go on ahead!"_ called Wrex. _"We'll try to shake this thing off and find you!"_

"_Thresher maw getting closer!"_ Mordin yelled again as the stone-like fins of Kalros emerged from the ground again to pursue her prey.

"_Tell me something I don't know!"_ snapped Wrex.

"_Metal in truck an excellent iron supplement for maw's diet!"_ replied Mordin.

"Now I'm kind of glad we're not in the truck," stated James.

The group were not out of the woods yet, however, as more Reaper forces tried to intercept them. They dived for cover as Reaper shots chipped pieces off the statues.

"_Shepard,"_ Mordin's voice quavered. _"Wrex busy driving truck. Are you still alive?"_

"Doing what we can!" Shepard grunted as she returned fire on the marauding Reapers. "What about you?"

"_Alarmed yet entertained!"_ Mordin squawked. _"Kalros is quite persistent!"_

"_Wreav, stick close!"_ Wrex's voice said.

"_Drive faster!"_ was Wreav's angry reply. _"I can smell the damn thing's breath!"_

After a minute of close calls, the last Marauder was brought down, its head exploding with the force from one of Garrus' bullets. Listening above the wind, the group heard the sounds of the trucks' engines approaching them again. Jumping down from a gap in the wall, the group found themselves on a set of steep steps that led down to the dunes. From here, they saw the trucks approach.

"_Get over here!"_ Wrex called. _"Wreav, keep an eye out for that maw! I don't want it sneaking up on us!"_ Wreav stopped his truck close to the temple, while Wrex's truck reached the steps.

"_Make it quick, Wrex!"_ barked Wreav grouchily. _"We're exposed!"_

The truck pulled up right next to the group, and Mordin threw open the side door. Shepard stopped in front of it, moving aside to let the others dash on board.

"Move it!" she bellowed. As if in answer, more plumes of dust could be seen erupting out of the ground, moving in a pattern as Kalros, underground, sped back towards the trucks. Alan was the last to climb on, and Shepard quickly scrambled in after him, as Kalros sped right by their position, the dust consuming Wreav's truck. As soon as Shepard was on board and the hatch was sealed, Wrex floored the accelerator, and the truck went speeding away from the temple, as something dragged Wreav's truck into the sands, taking Wreav with it.

"There's no way Wreav would have survived that," Wrex said, without a trace of regret in his voice. "He was a pain in the ass, anyway." The truck buffeted from side to side, bouncing off the dunes. "Now let's finish this. There's a Reaper waiting for us."

"Kedzuel's on his way with reinforcements," Alan pointed out.

"We can't wait for him," barked Wrex gruffly. "Eve and I have got a plan, and what's more, it's brilliant."

After a couple of minutes of rough travel, the truck stopped at a ruined temple right at the base of the Shroud itself. Standing right in front of the tower, like Cerberus at the gates of Hades, was the Reaper, its intimidating foghorn-like call reverberating all around them. Everybody stepped out of the truck, and James shook his head in disbelief when he saw what awaited them.

"I hope somebody has a Plan B," he said.

"Why didn't anybody tell me I was being roped into another suicide mission?" Garrus chimed in.

"We're curing the genophage no matter what it takes," snarled Wrex. "Everything my people will ever be depends on it!"

"Then I hope this idea of yours is as brilliant as you say it is," sighed Shepard. Even she felt herself beginning to lose her nerve in front of this titan. Close to her, she saw Alan's team had equal looks of unease on their faces.

"It was hers, actually," said Wrex, indicating Eve.

"Kalros," said Eve firmly. "We summon her to the Reaper." Alan's head spun around so fast he was sure it would fly right off his head.

"Would that even work?!" he exclaimed, incredulous.

"Already discussed strategy," said Mordin. "Just need to distract Reaper, draw it from tower while cure is synthesised and released."

"What makes you so sure she'll come?" asked Shepard, looking doubtful.

"Legends say she is the mother from which all other thresher maws spawn," said Eve. "This is as much her home as ours."

"If Tuchanka has a temper," Wrex chimed in, "Kalros is it. Nobody's ever faced her and survived."

"This is insane…" murmured Shepard. "But if she can at least keep it off our backs until Kedzuel's forces arrive…" In the end, she nodded, though rather reluctantly. "How would we summon her?"

"The tower was built in an arena dedicated to her glory," Eve explained. "The Salarians thought she would scare away intruders."

"Appears to have worked," Mordin chimed in.

"There are two maw hammers here," said Eve. "The largest in existence, one on each side of the arena." She pointed to two ramps leading up into the stands, skirting around the edges of the arena itself. "If one team can get to one hammer, the other to the second, they can activate them to summon Kalros. That should distract the Reaper."

"Meanwhile, laboratory nearby," said Mordin. "Will finish synthesising cure."

Alan and Shepard looked at each other, then at everyone else assembled. It was a gigantic gamble, but they didn't see any other options.

"Let's just make sure we all get out of this alive," said Shepard firmly. "We're gonna have one hell of a story to tell."

"I'll take the hammer on the right," said Alan. "The sooner we give this a shot, the better." As he was about to head to the ramp, however, Wrex held up a hand.

"Wait…" he grunted. Alan paused, then walked back to the others. Wrex looked at both of them, the light of hope gleaming in his eyes.

"I want you both to know that, no matter what happens…" he continued, standing tall before them. "You've both been champions to the Krogan people, friends to Clan Urdnot, and sister and brother to me." He held out his hand before him. "To every Krogan born after this day, the names 'Shepard' and 'Tyler' will mean 'hero'!" Shepard and Alan placed their hands on top of his, this simple gesture of unity somehow strengthening them, giving them hope for the future. When their hands parted, Wrex punched his palm. "Now let's show 'em why!"

Behind them, the skittering noises of approaching Ravagers could be heard. The teams raised their weapons to attack, but Wrex pushed past them.

"Go!" he barked. "I've got this!" With that, he drew his shotgun and charged right into the field of Ravagers, swatting each aside like flies and blasting their bulbous sacs apart. "I am Urdnot Wrex!" he roared. "And now you're gonna get the fuck off my planet!"

"See you on the other side," Shepard said quietly to Eve and Mordin as they retreated to the safety of the lab. Meanwhile, Alan led his team to the right-hand ramp, while Shepard and her squad moved to the left.

More Reaper forces landed, trying to intercept them, but the biggest danger was the Reaper itself. Now and again a great beam, powerful enough to tear entire space stations apart, fired in their direction, reducing everything it touched into mere dust, and the group had several close calls as it tried to destroy the walkways. They fought until every muscle in their bodies ached, not daring to show signs of exhaustion now.

"_I took care of those Rachni,"_ Wrex barked, _"but somebody's gotta raise those hammers before we can use 'em! I'll handle it!"_

"_Shepard!"_ Mordin squawked amidst the chaos. _"Some luck! Original strain in storage! Preparing the cure now."_

"Make it quick, Mordin!" yelled Shepard. "They're all over us out here!" She was forced to duck out of sight as one of the Cannibals' grenades went flying right over her head, forcing her to dash out of the way of the blast.

"_The hammers have been raised!"_ Wrex then called, as the Reaper almost took out the walkways, forcing Alan's group to jump back and almost knocking them into the arena below. _"You'll have to activate both of them at the same time, or close enough! My advice is to dodge that giant laser!"_

"You've got to be kidding!" Nicole yelled, diving down as the laser came very close to consuming her. "Are we really doing this?!" There was nowhere to hide between them and the hammers.

"Just keep moving!" Alan yelled, sprinting faster than he thought was possible for him. "Don't stop!" Fragments of rock exploded all around him as the laser fired this way and that; Alan seethed, knowing that it was bound to get a lucky shot sooner or later. However, as it opened up its red eye to fire at them again, gunfire erupted from somewhere behind the teams, knocking it back a little. All of a sudden Turian and Sangheili fighters swooped overhead, speeding towards the Destroyer.

"_This is Artimec and Spear!"_ one of the pilots called. _"We'll try to give that Reaper something else to shoot at!"_ Luckily the plan worked, for the Destroyer pitched itself back, firing its laser into the sky to try to swat down the swooping, soaring fighters.

"Mordin, we're almost at the hammers!" Shepard called. "How's the cure doing?!"

"_Almost have it!"_ Mordin replied, now actually panicked. _"Eve's vital signs dropping! Trying to compensate!"_

"_Get those hammers going!"_ barked Wrex.

"There's a Reaper in our way, Wrex!" Alan yelled.

"_I know!"_ Wrex grunted. _"You two get all the fun!"_

The walkways led down to ramps that stopped right at the hammers. They looked like gigantic metal logs, suspended above the ground with great chains, and the switches to activate them were on opposite sides of the Reaper. As both teams dashed down, one of the crab-like machine's legs actually came crashing down dangerously close to Shepard's team, almost crushing them. Barely dodging it, they reached the hammer.

"Alan!" Shepard barked. "You at your hammer?!"

"We've made it!" Alan replied. "But it was a near thing!"

"On my mark!" Shepard ordered. "Three! Two! One! Mark!"

At the same time, both Alan and Shepard pounded the large switches, releasing the chains and sending the great logs crashing down. They hit the ground with a resounding crash, sending shockwaves through the dust.

"Go!" Shepard yelled at her team. "Get back to the truck! I'll take care of the cure!"

Alan did the same, so James, Garrus, Nicole and Dorva dashed through the arena, while Alan and Shepard waited by the switches, praying that their plan would work. In the distance, they saw Kalros' spines moving swiftly along the sand dunes as if she was speeding through water. The Reaper turned to her, and fired its laser, spraying sand everywhere.

However, it missed, and when it was but a short distance away, and with a deafening shriek, Kalros, the great queen of the thresher maws, sprang out of the ground, mandibles apart. She collided with the Reaper, latching onto it with the long claws on the end of her stalk-like arms. Worm and machine wrestled violently, the Reaper staggering back. It sent its laser everywhere, almost hitting Shepard as she sprinted across the arena, trying to get closer to the tower. Alan did the same, glancing up to see what was happening.

To his horror, the Reaper managed to swing about and send Kalros slamming into the tower, and for one horrible moment he thought she would send it toppling over. Even worse, as she tried to retreat, the Destroyer managed to strike her with the ruby cannon, first blinding her. She let out an agonising shriek and reared, allowing the Reaper to shoot again, this time penetrating her soft underside. A hole was shot clean through her, and the silenced Kalros collapsed, her valiant heart liquidated. The Reaper quickly got its act together, almost crushing Shepard with its foot, forcing her to dive for cover behind a pillar. She panted, frustration all over her face. The plan had failed. Nothing was left now to get the Reaper away from the tower.

"Fuck!" Alan roared. "Now what do we do?!"

The air became charged and Shepard could taste a strange metallic sensation upon her tongue. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Her armour sparked with white, dancing, electrical fingers. She looked around and noted the same for Alan as well.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked. "What is this?"

"I know this feeling," said Alan. "I've seen it, I've felt it before."

A thunderous crack of a cannon and the flash of a lightning bolt struck the Reaper. The deep purple hued titanic, mechanical creature sparked and sputtered as lightning raced up and down its sides. It moaned and fell over, crashing into a cloud of brown debris. The ground quaked beneath its fall. As the cloud slowly dispersed, there stood a titanic figure dressed in heavy armour. It was much taller than Kiryuu, Alan thought. It was dressed very similar to how he found Megellan back at the Halo when he was held prisoner. A pair of large, bat-like wings spread out from under its armoured cloak, its fingers were coppery gold and the membranes were ruby red. He could see the curled golden, branched horns from the creature's head and the bundles of long, auburn dreadlocks draping all the way down to its knees. The locks were decorated in gold and glowing icy blue stones. Electricity danced across the creature's form.

"A Blitzardi," said Alan. "Kedzuel must have sent him... or is that Kedzuel?"

The Blitzardi turned to reveal that its face was covered with a draconic helm and glowing blue optics.

"Doa dat je'ganthar!" the Blitzardi. "Rao!"

"What did he say?" asked Shepard.

"Sounds like wants us to move," said Alan.

They moved back as quickly as they could though Alan wanted very much to stand and watch this.

"One lone Blitzardi against a Reaper," said Shepard. "Is this the help Kedzuel promised? Where's the rest of them?"

"Do you see the size of that Blitzardi?" said Alan. "He's bigger than Kiryuu Knight! I think he can take the Reaper down."

They moved to a safer location but still, the need to watch over came them. So, the two settled themselves by a rock to watch this battle of behemoths begin.

The Blitzardi ignited his cyan energy sword as the Reaper rose back up, shaking loose the rocks from its metallic hide. It faced its attacker, the central crimson beam charging from one of its 'eyes'. It shot forth, streaking across the ground, the heat melting the sand beneath into glass. The Blitzardi winked out of sight as the beam impacted one of the ancient, archaic structures, knocking loose the fresco. The Blitzardi reappeared and struck one of its lobster-like legs severing it with a slice of the cyan sword. A second leg kicked out, slamming against the Blitzardi's head, sending him colliding into the rock face just below the group gathered to watch. The Blitzardi rose from the rubble, shaking it loose from his shoulders. It was then they could actually see its face as the helm fell. The Blitzardi was indeed recognizable to them with the streak of silver in his bangs.

"Emperor Kedzuel?" asked Shepard. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Finding a new way of calming my anger down!" Kedzuel bellowed as he rose up, his shadow stretching over them. In a blur of light and electricity, he took off again and with a single kick, sent the Reaper ploughing back. Just before the Reaper could rise, Kedzuel vanished again.

In the cloud of dust, they saw the shape of the Reaper rise up, lying flat against its back. Something else was lifting it up. As the clouds cleared again, they found Kedzuel under the Reaper holding it up above his head as best he could.

"Don't tell me this has something to do with what Eve said earlier!" said Alan.

"No!" Kedzuel roared as he felt the Reaper's weight bore down upon him. "This is about the Dalatrass! Who the hell does that stupid bitch think she is?"

With a mighty grunt, the Emperor hefted the Reaper up and tossed it right into a sandy cliff. The Reaper's slick form sparked and twitched just for a moment. Kedzuel kept his eyes upon the Reaper, placing himself between it and Alan and Shepard. His keen, pointed ears caught the sound of a truck riding up the slope and the door opening up. Out popped Mordin, the truck speeding away as soon as his feet hit the dirt. His big eyes wide and his mouth gaping with slight awe when he looked upon Kedzuel's titanic, true size.

"Mordin!" said Shepard. "What happened?!"

"Well, Shepard, I…." He began to say, but his eyes could not leave Kedzuel. "I am so sorry, I must inquire…is that…"

"Mordin," said Shepard. "This isn't the time. What has happened?"

"I do have good news and bad news, Shepard," Mordin said.

"Good news first," said Alan.

"The good news is that I have successfully created the cure to the genophage."

Kedzuel leaned in just a little closer, though his eyes did not leave the Reaper. He detected a slight twitch from one of the Reaper's legs.

"What's the bad news?" Kedzuel asked.

"I am afraid that the plan to use Kalros to destroy the Reaper unfortunately has damaged the Shroud," replied Mordin.

"Can we get the cure dispersed in time?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," he said. "But we must work quickly. Not much time until tower falls. Must counteract STG measures before it does."

"Alright," said Kedzuel as he watched the Reaper wiggle back to life, the red eyes turning on and glowing brightly. "Get up there and do what you need to do. I'll keep the Reaper busy." He could hear the sound of the joints creaking to life with a metallic screech. "Get going, now!"

Alan and Shepard dashed off, following Mordin and leaving Kedzuel to face the Reaper alone.

The Blitzardi lit up with electricity, striking the Reaper with multiple barrages of lightning bolts. The Reaper squirmed with every strike, letting loose a horrible, metallic shriek of agony. Kedzuel backed away from it and struck it again with another bolt of lightning from his fingers. The fingers of the bolt laced across the Reaper's form and it slowly rose up higher and higher. He ignited his sword in his right hand as he kept the Reaper levitated with the left. Kedzuel extended the length of the sword out, curling it back for the strike.

_Not this time, Draconis... _Kedzuel heard the sound of the Hydra's hissing voice coming from the Reaper.

The lightning shifted colour from the pale yellow to a bold gold. Kedzuel could feel the energy shift and the bolt he fed to the Reaper to keep it suspended fluctuate. Sparks flashed from his fingers and he let go, feeling himself being thrown back by a pulse from the Reaper. His fingers ached and twitched as he rose up again.

_So, you want to play with lightning, Blitzardi?_

Kedzuel's shoulder twitched as he rose back up to his feet. He tore his glove from his claw and peered down upon his scales. The coppery golden colour was fading away, becoming a pallid, sickly teal.

_What's the matter, Mr. Jerry Hamilton? Feeling a little blue?_

"Oh, Gorath, funny," Kedzuel said, his voice sounding like raspy sand paper. "Perhaps instead of galactic domination, you should be a comedian! And only Cara can call me Jerry."

He straightened his back and charged his body up again, the blue fading away from his scales.

Kedzuel tilted his head, cracking the joints in his neck. The Reaper rose as well and once more the Blitzardi could hear King Ghidorah's voice booming out from it again.

_Let us continue our dance. The dance of millions of years that yours and mine have danced. How does it go…_

"This time, I will make sure you stay gone!" said Kedzuel.

_Your predecessor said that as well. Look what happened to him. The years of fighting weighing down upon his shoulders. Khan could not take it anymore. Billions of years have we fought, if not in this form, but in others. And it will continue as it has been before as it shall be again. Dancing our dance. _

Kedzuel grunted, igniting another sword in his left hand, shaking his head in defiance.

The Reaper replied, its cannon shot true with a blinding red light. Kedzuel dodged as quickly as he could through the beam. The Reaper turned, the beam itself sweeping across the sand. Kedzuel zapped across the dunes, arcing up and around the Reaper's feet as the beam barely missed him.

_What ponderous burden you carry. It is no wonder why Cerenath Khan left these primitives to their own devices thousands of years before. Perhaps you should do the same._

"I think I've had enough of listening to you," said Kedzuel as he came to his feet. He held out his palm and shielded himself and the smaller beings below him from the red beam of the Reaper. "You're not funny anymore!"

_Do you honestly believe that you have been blessed? The chosen people above all else. It is a curse, not a blessing._

"Preaching to the choir here."

Kedzuel heard King Ghidorah's wicked laugh in his head. The Reaper ceased its onslaught upon the Blitzardi. Kedzuel closed his eyes, breathing slowly in and out, finding his centre. He sneered at the mocking laugh and his body flashed with electric light. Kedzuel vanished again in a strike of lightning, the bolt clashing upon the Reaper's form. Flashes of cyan light exploded along the joints of the Reaper's legs. Kedzuel reappeared again and clashed the two cyan swords together, extending their length out towards the Reaper. The blade extended several hundreds of feet before him, every inch bringing it closer to his foe. The tip of the sword shot straight through the red eye of the Reaper, impaling it in a burst of white sparks. He cut upwards with a long swing, slicing the Reaper in half. The Blitzardi made one final swing, cutting across its flank. The Reaper toppled piece by piece, crumbling down into a mass of writhing wires. What was left of the red optic fell to blackness.

_You win this round…_

Kedzuel sighed as he heard King Ghidorah's admittance of defeat and he felt the Hydra's presence leave the form of the Reaper. The heap of metal's coloration shifted to grey as tiny speckles of golden light slowly rose from its ruined form. He could feel them, every one of them. Souls, twisted and mutilated souls, forever crying out for rest, but never tasting it. They formed for a brief moment a massive draconic form with four legs and two gigantic wings, twin tails, and three heads. He heard the sound of three voices singing a bell-like call, each one only slightly different pitched than the other.

_But the war is far from over…_

"Go run back to your... home with your two tails between your legs, King Ghidorah," said Kedzuel, heavily breathing as he spoke. "There's more of that coming for you! You just wait."

The ghostly apparition dispersed into flecks of golden light, rising higher and higher into the yellow sky. Kedzuel's paws became limp as the swords vanished from his grip.

"Emperor beats King always," he said between his panting breaths. "That... that's how you handle a Reaper. You pound the living shit outta them until they say 'uncle'."

"_My Emperor!"_ Kedzuel heard the sound of Zhane's worried voice through his own commlink. _"You're wounded!"_

"Shut up, you 30 thousand ton featherweight," said Kedzuel. "A Reaper could sneeze on you and you'd blow away."

He felt so relaxed, as if every bit of stress had melted away after the Reaper was finally destroyed. Kedzuel settled himself down against the cliff and looked up towards the Shroud. The glistening glowing cords draping from his neck gathered all about him in a pool of bright blue. His eyes still remained upon the Shroud, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen to happen.

0

Amidst the pounding and crackling resounding from the battle outside, Alan and Shepard managed to get inside the control room at the base of the tower. Mordin's fingers were now frantically flying over one of the long-abandoned consoles, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Mordin!" Shepard called, as she ran down to him. "Is the cure ready to go?"

"Yes!" Mordin replied. "Loaded for dispersal in two minutes! Procedure traumatic for Eve, but not lethal. Maelon's research invaluable!"

"She's okay?" asked Alan.

"Headed to safety now," replied Mordin. "Will meet you with Wrex and the others at the Hollows. Her survival fortunate. Will stabilise new government should Wrex get any ideas. Good match; promising future for Krogans." He was struggling to make himself heard above the explosions in the tower and the footfalls outside that each resounded like thunder. All of a sudden a piece of debris came down from the tower, slamming into the floor dangerously close to where the trio were standing.

"Shit!" exclaimed Alan.

"Control room at top of Shroud tower," said Mordin, pointing towards the large elevator in the back of the room. "Must take elevator up!"

"You're going up there?!" said an incredulous Shepard.

"Yes," replied Mordin, working frantically on his Omni-Tool. "Manual access required. Have to counteract STG sabotage. Ensure cure dispersed properly!"

"Mordin, this whole thing's coming apart!" barked Alan. "There's got to be another way!"

"Remote bypass impossible!" Mordin explained, turning to look up at the tower as it continued to crumble, the sky turning a sickly shade of green amidst the dark clouds. "STG countermeasures in place. No time to adjust cure for temperature variance!" He lowered his head, speaking more softly as he turned back to look at the others. "No other option. Not coming back. Suggest you and Emperor Kedzuel get clear. Explosions likely to be problematic." He began to march toward the elevator, but Shepard stepped forward.

"Mordin, no!" she exclaimed. However, Mordin did not stop. He walked straight into the elevator and span around to speak to her.

"Shepard, please…" he said softly, looking reflective. "Have to do this. My project. My work. My cure. My responsibility." He closed his eyes, and actually managed to smile in spite of himself. "Would have liked to have worked with Emperor Kedzuel on other projects. Maybe retire to a beach and experiment on seashells."

Alan was about to run into the elevator, but Shepard held out an arm, blocking him. Alan was about to protest, but one look from Shepard – a strong, commanding look – told him that this was one time he could not interfere. Mordin had made his choice, and they would have to respect his final wishes.

"I'm sorry…" Shepard said to Mordin.

"I'm not," said Mordin brightly. "Had to be me." He closed the elevator door. "Someone else might have gotten it wrong." The elevator began to rise, and Mordin caught one last look at his friends' despairing faces, then looked back up towards the control room, praying that the elevator would move faster. A short distance away he could see Kedzuel strike the Reaper's red optic with his glowing sword. He would have loved to have studied Technomancy, find out what true masters of it were capable of, and would have loved to have studied the Array further. However, he had made his choice, and he was fully prepared to accept his fate.

"_Warning,"_ the computerised VI voice in the control room sounded as the elevator stopped. _"Temperature malfunction detected."_ The room was in flames, the consoles lit up with holographic displays showing the deteriorating status of the Shroud, and alarms blazed everywhere. Mordin calmly stepped up to the control console and immediately set to work. In spite of the explosions going off all around him, he remained calm, and even managed to hum the tune he had performed earlier for Alan's benefit. The STG countermeasures were strong, but nothing he was unfamiliar with, and they soon fell to his commands.

"_Temperature now within acceptable range,"_ the VI reported. _"Dispersal commencing."_ At once, the dark clouds began to fade away, and out of the tower erupted a shower of what looked like bright white snowflakes. This was only a visual signifier to the cure's successful dispersal; the cure itself was invisible, and even now it was beginning to be mingled with Tuchanka's atmosphere. The Krogans would soon be breathing it in, their millennia-long curse finally lifted. He knew there was no time to get back down the tower; he simply stood before the console, completely at peace, awaiting the explosions to engulf him while watching the beautiful sight of his contribution to the war effort falling on the no longer so desolate-seeming world.

"My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian," he sang softly. "I am the-"

There was a loud crash, the console smashed and splintered as flames shot out from it, and the song was silenced forever.

0

Kedzuel wandered through the Hollows with a heavy heart, now reduced to human size. Soon after the cure's release, as the tower began to collapse behind them, he had teleported himself, Shepard and Alan to the Hollows to reconvene with the others, who had taken the truck back there. Even now, while the tower crumbled away, the snow-like remnants of the cure continued to fall, continuing to mingle the miracle with the atmosphere. Kedzuel had only had to feel it fall into his hand to know that the Krogans were now breathing the cure in; Mordin's sacrifice had not been in vain. There was much he wanted to say to the others, but for now, under the circumstances, he reasoned it could wait a little longer.

The three of them descended to the middle of the Hollows, where they found Wrex and Eve waiting for them. Wrex was looking around the great coliseum-like archways with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"A long time ago," he said as he heard the trio approach, "my father betrayed me in this place. His own son… He tried to kill me. So I had to kill him… right over there." He pointed to one side of the dais." He turned to face the others. "That's what the genophage reduced us to: animals. But you three changed that today."

"Now we'll fight for our children, not against them," said Eve, her eyes closed. "It's just a pity Mordin had to die…"

"He wouldn't have had it any other way," Shepard sighed. "And I'm sure wherever he is… he's putting in a good word for us." She looked meaningfully at Kedzuel, who nodded, lines of sadness etched on his face.

"We'll name one of the kids after him," said Wrex. "Maybe a girl."

"But you…" Eve said, looking at each face in turn. "Commander, Captain, Emperor… we can thank you in-person."

"I'm deploying troops to Palaven immediately," said Wrex to Kedzuel. "Victus and I can co-ordinate them when we're back on the _Shi'lithra_. When you're ready to kick the Reapers off Earth, let me know." He beat a fist into his palm. "The Krogan are back in business!"

"Thank you all," said Eve, shaking each of their hands in turn.

"What will you do now?" asked Alan.

"Spread the hope that you've given us," replied Eve softly. "Even now there are clans gathering in the Kelphic Valley. I'll go speak to them and make sure this gift isn't squandered. Thank you all for everything, and know that Urdnot Bakara calls you friends."

She bowed, and the others bowed to her in return. The sun had now fully risen, and for the first time in over a millennia the landscape of Tuchanka didn't speak of desolation and despair; it spoke of potential and new hope.


End file.
